TP-IMD-02 v0 For GEng138 Lesson 1.2

Module 1: Introduction of
Remote Sensing
Module Overview
The module introduces the concepts and scientific principles of remote sensing,
including its milestone of history, typology, applications, usefulness and limitations
of several sensing systems. Likewise, the concepts of spectral reflectance and
spectral signature of major landcover classes are introduce as well as it is seen as
an important foundation in the succeeding modules.
Motivation Question
What remote sensing can help us do?
Lesson 1.2: Types of Remote Sensing and their

Applications
Lesson Summary
Remote sensing system can be categorized in terms of its energy source and
wavelength where it operates. In terms of energy source, remote sensing are
classified as active and passive; while optical, thermal, and microwave are three
types of remote sensing in terms of wavelengths.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
• Explain the difference and similarities of remote sensing types in terms of
characteristics (i.e., by energy source and wavelengths).
• Explain the difference and similarities of remote sensing types in terms of
characteristics (i.e., by energy source and wavelengths).
• Explain the different types of image resolution
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Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation.
Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge TP-IMD-02
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and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment.
No.
Discussions
Types of Remote Sensing
By energy source
1. Passive remote sensing. It depends mainly on the sun as the source of
illumination. In general, most of the earth imaging sensing systems are
passive that operates in Visible (V), Infrared (IF), thermal infrared (TIR), and
Microwave regions
2. Active remote sensing. It has its own source of illumination. The sensor emits
its own energy hence, day and night acquisition are possible.
(a) (b)
Figure 1 Passive (a) and active (b) remote sensing
Table 1 Strengths and limitations of active and passive remote sensing system
Source: https://seos-project.eu/
Strengths of Active Limitations of Active

(Limitations of Passive) (Strengths of Passive)
Weather independent: artificial The pulse power is mostly low and can be
microwave radiation can penetrate influenced or interfered by other radiation
clouds, light rain and snow. sources.
Sunlight independent: can be operated Required power supply
day and night.
Radar penetrates vegetation and soil: can Radar signals contain no spectral
gain information about surface layer from characteristics.
mm to m depth.
Can give information about moisture Complicated analysis, cost-intensive.
content of soil layer.
Various applications: oceanography,
hydrology, geology, glaciology,
agriculture and forestry services.
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By wavelengths
1. Visible and reflective infrared remote sensing. It operates in V and IR regions
with sun as the source of energy and that the object reflects. The sun radiates
electromagnetic energy with a peak wavelength of 0.5 μm (Figure 2).
2. Thermal infrared remote sensing. It operates in TIR region with the object
itself as the source of radiant energy. Unlike visible and reflective sensing
systems, the object emits. Any object with a normal temperature will emits
electromagnetic energy with a peak of about 10 μm (Figure 2).
3. Microwave remote sensing. It operates in microwave region and that sensor

or object itself may emit energy. Hence, microwave remote sensing can be
passive or active (Figure 2).
Figure 2 Summary of characteristics on the classification of remote sensing by wavelength
Source: Adapted from: http://sar.kangwon.ac.kr/

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Types of Image Resolution
Spatial resolution
It refers to the smallest size of an object or detail that can be represented in an image
and is related to the instantaneous field of view (IFOV) of the system and its altitude
(Figure 3).
Figure 3 Relationship of ground resolution (D), and sensor's IFOV & altitude
𝐷 = ꞵ𝐻 Eq. 1
Where:
D is the approximate spatial resolution
IFOV is Instantaneous Field of View, in radians
H is the altitude of the sensing system
Example: For a sensor with angular field of view of 2 milliradians and a flying altitude
of 5km, what is the approximate spatial resolution in meters? (Answer: ~10m)
Types of spatial resolution

1. Low resolution: > 30m
2. Medium resolution: 2-30m
3. High resolution: < 2m
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Figure 4 Illustration of different spatial resolution and output display
Source: Source: Satellite Imaging Corporation
Figure 5 Imagery of Harbor Town in Hilton Head, SC at several resolution
Source: (Jensen, 2015)
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Figure 6 Imagery of VSU 10-m and 2-m resolution
Rule of thumb
The nominal spatial resolution of the remote sensing system should be less than
one-half the size of the feature measured in its smallest dimension (Jensen, 2015).
Suppose, the location of all coconut trees must be identified in the image, hence, the
minimum acceptable spatial resolution would be approximately one-half the
diameter of the smallest coconut tree’s crown.
Figure 7 Illustration on nominal spatial resolution
Spectral resolution
The number and size of wavelength (regions) that the sensor is capable of detecting.
One EM region represent one band or channel (Figure 8).
Types of spectral resolution

1. Multispectral sensors: 3 – 20 bands
2. Hyperspectral sensors: 100 – 200 bands
3. Ultraspectral sensors: several hundreds of bands
4. Panchromatic
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Figure 8 Illustration of spectral bands
Radiometric resolution
Radiometric resolution is defined as the sensitivity of a sensor to differences in signal
strength as it records the radiant flux reflected, emitted, or back-scattered from the
terrain (Jensen, 2015). In other words, it is the sensor’s ability to differentiate among
subtle changes in brightness (Lillesand et al., 2015). Imagine, if you want to measure
a line up to millimeter level, would you use a measuring tool that is calibrated at 1-
meter? This analogy reflects when choosing radiometric resolution for a project.
Figure 9 is self-explanatory of radiometric resolution.
Radiometric resolution is measured in bit per pixel. Example, a 1-bit image (21) has
two levels of color, that is, black and white; a 2-bit image (22) has four levels from
pure black to pure white with two gray levels in between. It also represents the depth
of pixel values (digital numbers), that is, 1-bit has pixel values of 0 (black) and 1
(white), and values of 0 (black) to 255 (white) are present in an 8-bit image (Figure
9).
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Figure 9 Image at different radiometric resolutions
Source: https://crisp.nus.edu.sg/~research/tutorial/image.htm
Temporal resolution
The temporal resolution of a remote sensing system generally refers to how often
and when the sensor records imagery of a specific location. Example, if a sensing
system captures image every 24 hours, then its temporal resolution is 24 hours,
likewise, a 16-day revisit sensing system captures image of the area every 16 days.
Types of temporal resolution

1. High resolution: <24 hours to 3 days
2. Medium resolution: 4 to 16 days
3. Low resolution: >16 days
Most satellite-based sensing systems that are high temporal resolutions are low
spatial resolution because, highly temporal resolution systems have narrower swath
width than lower temporal systems (Figure 10 and Figure 11).
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Figure 10 Illustration of swath width (shaded portion) of sensing system
Figure 11 Spatial and temporal resolution for selected applications
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Common Remote Sensing Systems
There are several spaced-based remotes sensing systems that are currently
operational. Below are few of them and most importantly, access to data is free of
charge.
1. Landsat. It is the first earth-observing satellite launched with the intent study and
monitor the planet’s land resources. It is the only U.S. satellite system designed
and operated to repeatedly observe the land surface at global scale (NASA,
2021). Landsat 1 was launched in 1972, after such successful mission, it also
launched series of missions, that is, from Landsat 2 to Landsat 8, though Landsat
6 failed to reach its orbit. Landsat 9 is scheduled to be launched in September
2021 (NASA, 2021). It is a joint program between National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) and United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Figure 12 Chronological launch history of Landsat Satellites
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Table 2 Summary of characteristics of Landsat Series
System Launch End of Instrument/ Spatial Altitude Spectral Temporal

Date Service Sensor Res. (m) (km) Res. Res.
(bands) (day)
Landsat 1 07/27/1972 01/06/1978 RBV/MSS 80/80 917 4 (MSS) 18
Landsat 4 7/16/1982 06/15/2001 TM/MSS 30/80 705 4 (MSS) 16
7 (TM)
Landsat 5 03/01/1984 06/19/2013 TM/MSS 30/80 705 4 (MSS) 16
7 (TM)
Landsat 6 10/05/1993 1/05/1993 ETM 15 (pan) 705 16
30 (ms)
Landsat 7 04/15/1999 - ETM+ 15 (pan) 705 8 16
30 (ms
Landsat 8 02/11/2013 - OLI/TIRS 15 (pan) 705 9 (OLI) 16
30 (ms) 2 (TIRS)
100 (tir)
Landsat 9 planned -
RBV: Return-Beam Vidicon MSS: Multispecral scanner
TM: Thermal Mapper ETM: Enhanced Thematic Mapper
OLI: Operational Land Imager TIRS: Thermal Infrared Sensor
ETM+: Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus pan: panchromatic ms: multispectral
2. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). An instrument

aboard the satellites Terra (a.k.a. EOS AM-1), and Aqua (a.k.a. EOS PM-1).
-Spectral resolution: 36 bands
-Spatial resolution: 250m (bands 1-2), 500m (bands 3-7), 1-km (bands 8-36)
-Temporal resolution: 24 hrs
-Radiometric resolution: 12bits
-Altitude: 705km
-Date launched: December 18, 1999 by NASA
3. Sentinel Missions. These are earth-imaging systems of the European Space

Agency (ESA) under Copernicus Program. Its primary applications include land
monitoring, maritime monitoring, emergency management and security.
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System Launch Instrument/ Spatial Spectral Temporal
Date Sensor Res. (m) Res. (bands) Res. (day)
Sentinel 1 SAR/Radar varied C band 12

-1A 04/03/2014
-1B 04/25/2016
-1C planned
Sentinel 2 MSI 10 13 (ms) 10
-2A 06/23/2015 20
-2B 03/07/2017 60
Sentinel 3 OLCI
-3A SLSTR
-3B Synergy
Altimetry
Sentinel 5P TROPOMI
4. Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)

5. Drones and LiDAR
Applications of Remote Sensing
1. Topography and Bathymetry

2. Vegetation Monitoring (health, canopy structure, Leaf Area Index)
3. Surface Temperature of land, water, atmosphere
4. Soil Moisture and Rocks/Mineral composition
5. Atmospheric studies (clouds, aerosol, precipitation, ozone)
6. Water (color, surface hydrology, suspended minerals, dissolve organic matter,
chlorophyll)
7. Snow and Ice
8. Landuse & landcover mapping/monitoring
Learning Task/Activities
1. Read pages 10-23 of Introductory Digital Image Processing A Remote
Sensing Perspective (4th Edition) by John R. Jensen
2. Answer: In every research project, state the importance of knowing the
following characteristics of remote sensing systems:
a. (5) spectral resolution (2-3 sentences)
b. (5) spatial resolution (2-3 sentences)
c. (5) temporal resolution (2-3 sentences)
d. (5) spectral characteristics (2-3 sentences)
3. Suppose you have the following projects, identify which particular remote
sensing systems (one or more) to you will use, and state the reason(s):
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a. (5) Monitoring the growth of sugarcane (from planting to harvesting)
of at least 5-has area.
b. (5) Counting the number of pine tress
c. (5) Land cover mapping in 1980-2020
d. (5) Monitoring the land surface temperature from 1970 to present of
the Philippines.
Assessment
(To be posted in VSU E-learning portal.)
References and Additional Resources

Jensen, J. R. (2015). Introductory Digital Image Processing A Remote Sensing Perspective
(4th Edition). Pearson Education, Inc.
Lillesand, T. M., Kiefer, R. W., & Chipman, J. W. (2015). Remote Sensing and Image
Interpretation. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
NASA. (2021). Landsat Satellites. https://landsat.gsf.nasa.gov
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TP-IMD-02 v0 For GEng138 Lesson 1.2

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Module 1: Introduction of

Lesson 1.2: Types of Remote Sensing and their

Types of Remote Sensing

Strengths of Active Limitations of Active

3. Microwave remote sensing. It operates in microwave region and that sensor

Figure 2 Summary of characteristics on the classification of remote sensing by wavelength

Source: Adapted from: http://sar.kangwon.ac.kr/

Types of spatial resolution

Source: Source: Satellite Imaging Corporation

Figure 5 Imagery of Harbor Town in Hilton Head, SC at several resolution

Source: (Jensen, 2015)

Figure 7 Illustration on nominal spatial resolution

Types of spectral resolution

Types of temporal resolution

Figure 11 Spatial and temporal resolution for selected applications

Source: (Jensen, 2015)

Figure 12 Chronological launch history of Landsat Satellites

Source: (Jensen, 2015)

System Launch End of Instrument/ Spatial Altitude Spectral Temporal

2. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). An instrument

3. Sentinel Missions. These are earth-imaging systems of the European Space

Sentinel 1 SAR/Radar varied C band 12

4. Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)

Applications of Remote Sensing

1. Topography and Bathymetry

References and Additional Resources

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