Assignment

What is remote sensing, sensors, and its types?

Remote sensing is a type of geospatial technology, in which the physical characteristics of earth
surface, atmosphere, and aquatic ecosystems is detected and monitored by measuring its reflected and
emitted radiation at a distance from satellite-based or aircraft-based sensor technologies, which are classified
as either active sensors or passive sensors. (Sinha, 2010)

Active sensors
Active Sensor is source of light or illumination and its sensor measures reflected energy. The energy
is generated and sent from the Remote Sensing platform towards the targets. Radar is an example of Active
Sensor. (Sinha, 2010)
Passive sensors
Passive Sensor is source of energy that is naturally available from the Sun. Most of the Remote Sensing
systems work in passive mode using solar energy as the source of EMR. The Sun, MSS is an example of
Passive Sensor. (Gisrsstudy, 2023)
Remote sensing process
The process involves an interaction between radiation and the targeted areas. There are the following
eight elements involved in RS process. (Gisrsstudy, 2023)
1. Energy Source (A)
2. Radiation and the Atmosphere (B)
3. Interaction with the Target (C)
4. Recording of Energy by the Sensor (D)
5. Transmission and Reception (E)
6. Data Processing (F)
7. Interpretation and Analysis (G)
8. Application (H)

Advantages of Remote Sensing

1. Synoptic view
2. Repeativity
3. Accessibility
4. Time saving
5. Cost effective
Applications of Remote Sensing
1. Agriculture
2. Forestry
3. Water resources
4. Detection of Water pollution
5. Geology and Mineral sources
6. Mapping of Land use
7. Monitoring of Environmental hazards
8. Weather and Climate related applications
9. Engineering applications
10. Human induced geological hazards
Sensors:
A sensor is a device that detects and measure physical quantity and transmits it, interprets it, and
produces an output, so that a computer, instrument, or observer can read it.
Sensors respond to some type of input from the physical environment, which could be light, heat, motion,
moisture, pressure, or any other environmental phenomena. (Campbell, 1987)
Three main types of sensors
1. Optical (Visible/IR), 2. Radar (Microwave), 3. LIDAR (Mostly NIR)
 1. Optical (Visible/IR)
Remote sensing makes use of visible, near infrared and short-wave infrared sensors to form images of the
earth's surface by detecting the solar radiation reflected from targets on the ground.
Different materials reflect and absorb differently at different wavelengths. Thus, the targets can be
differentiated by their spectral reflectance signatures in the remotely sensed images.

Optical remote sensing systems are classified into the following types, depending on the number of spectral
bands used in the imaging process. (Campbell, 1987)

1. Panchromatic imaging system

If the camera uses a black/white film or satellite sensors use
a single band, it produces panchromatic images (gray scale
image). The image does not contain any wavelength-
specific information. (Campbell, 1987)
Examples: o IKONOS PAN o SPOT, HRV-PAN

2. Multispectral imaging system

The sensor is a multichannel detector with a few spectral
bands. Each channel is sensitive to radiation within a narrow
wavelength band. The resulting image is a multilayer image
which contains both the brightness and spectral (color)
information of the targets being observed. (Campbell, 1987)
Examples: o LANDSAT MSS o LANDSAT TM o SPOT,
HRV-XS o IKONOS MS
 3. Super-spectral Imaging System
A super-spectral imaging sensor has many more spectral
channels (typically >10) than a multispectral sensor. The
bands have narrower bandwidths, enabling the finer spectral
characteristics of the targets to be captured by the sensor.
(Campbell, 1987)
Examples: o MODIS o MERIS

4. Hyperspectral Imaging Systems

A hyperspectral imaging system is also known as an
"imaging spectrometer". It acquires images in about a
hundred bands. The precise spectral information contained in
a hyperspectral image enables better characterization and
identification of targets. Hyperspectral images have potential
applications in such fields as precision agriculture (e.g.,
monitoring the types, health, moisture status and maturity of
crops), coastal management (e.g., monitoring of
phytoplankton's, pollution, bathymetry changes). (Campbell,
1987)
Example: o Hyperion on EO1 satellite

2. Radar (Microwave)
RADAR stands for Radio Detection and Ranging. Radar is an
active radiolocation system that uses radio waves to determine
the distance (ranging), angle (azimuth), and radial velocity of
objects relative to the site. It is used to detect and track aircraft,
ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, and map
weather formations etc.

Example: Bats use echolocation to navigate and find food in

the dark. To echolocate, bats send out sound waves from
their mouth or nose. When the sound waves hit an object,
they produce echoes. The echo bounces off the object and
returns to the bat's ears. Bats listen to the echoes to figure out
where the object is, how big it is, and its shape.
Bats are the most creative creature on our planet earth.
(Ahmed, S. and H.R. Warren, 1989)
Working Principle of RADAR
The radar working principle is very simple because it
transmits electromagnetic power as well as examines the
energy returned back to the target. If the returned signals are
received again at the position of their source, then an obstacle
is in the transmission way. (Ahmed, S. and H.R. Warren,
1989)
Types of RADAR
1. Imaging radar systems
2. Non-imaging radar systems
Imaging radar systems
The most common form of imaging active microwave sensors is RADAR. RADAR is an acronym for radio
detection and ranging. The sensor transmits a microwave (radio) signal towards the target and detects the
backscattered portion of the signal. By measuring the time difference between the transmission of pulse and
reception of the backscattered echo from different targets, their distance from radar and thus location is
determined. (Ahmed, S. and H.R. Warren, 1989)
Non-imaging radar systems
Non-imaging microwave sensors include altimeters and scatter meters. In most cases these are profiling
devices which take measurements in one linear dimension, as opposed to the two-dimensional representation
of imaging sensors.
Radar altimetry is used on aircraft for altitude determination and on aircraft and satellites for topographic
mapping and sea surface height estimation.
Scatter meters are also generally non-imaging sensors and are used to make precise quantitative measurements
of the amount of energy backscattered from targets. (Ahmed, S. and H.R. Warren, 1989)
3. LIDAR (Mostly NIR)
Light Detection and Ranging, also LADAR) is an optical active remote sensing technology that can measure
the distance to, or other properties of a target by illuminating the target with light, often using pulses from a
laser. The term "laser radar" is sometimes used, even though LIDAR does not employ microwaves or radio
waves and therefore is not radar in the strict sense of the word. LIDAR uses ultraviolet, visible, or infrared
light to image objects and can be used with a wide range of targets, including non-metallic objects, rocks, rain,
chemical compounds A narrow laser beam can be used to map physical features with very high resolution.
(Ahmed, S. and H.R. Warren, 1989)
Basic Principle of LIDAR
Each time the laser is pulsed:
• Laser generates an optical pulse.
• Pulse is reflected off an object and returns to the
system receiver.
• High-speed counter measures the time of flight from
the start pulse to the return pulse.
• Time measurement is converted to a distance (the
distance to the target and the position of the airplane is
then used to determine the elevation and location).
• Multiple returns can be measured for each pulse.

What can we measure with LIDAR?

• Clouds
• Aerosol
• Water vapour
• Minor constituents e.g., ozone, hydrocarbons
• Temperature
Lidars can be used from the ground, aircraft or from space.

Components used in LIDAR

• Laser
• Scanner and optics
• Photodetector and receiver electronics
• Position and navigation systems

Applications of LIDAR
1. Agriculture
2. Archeology
3. Biology Conservation
4. Geology
5. Hydrology
6. Metrology
References
1. Mehtani, S., & Sinha, S. &. A. (2010). Remote Sensing Geography.
2. https://gisrsstudy.com/.
3. Campbell, J.B., 1987. Introduction to Remote Sensing, The Guilford Press.
4. Ahmed, S. and H.R. Warren, 1989. The Radarsat System. IGARSS'89/12th Canadian Symposium on
Remote Sensing. Vol. 1. pp.213-217.