Chapter four

Remote sensing

4.1 Introduction 100

----
Remote sensing, encompassing the study of 90
satellite data and aerial photographs, is an
80
extremely powerful technique for earth
resources exploration, mapping and manage- 70
ment . It involves measurements of the electro -
;: 60
magnetic (EM) radiation in the wavelength
c
range of about 0.4 pm-I rn, from sensors flying .,g so
u
on aerial or space platforms 10 characterize and
1i" 40
infer properties of the terrain. Remote sensing 0::

has evolved primarily from the methods of aer- 30

ial photography and photo-interpretation used 20
extensively in the 1950s and 1960s. The tech-
nique has grown rapidly during the last 3-4 10
decades . In the context of groundwater studies,
0·6 0·8 1'0 1·2 1·4
remote sensing is of great value as a very first
Wavelenglh (um)
reconnaissance 1001, the usual sequence of inves-
tigations being: satellite images, aerial pho- FIGURE 4 .1 Spectral response curves of selected
tographs, geophysical data, drilling . The remote objects.
sensing data are used for studying various
groundwater indicators and mapping their dis-
bution on the ground. A generalized schematic
tribution, as discussed later.
of energy datalflow in a typical remote sensing
Fundamental principle programme is shown in Figure 4.2.
The basic principle involved in remote sensing Advantages and limitations
is that each object, depending upon its physical
The chief advantages of remote sensing tech-
characteristics, reflects, emits and absorbs vary-
niques over other methods of data collection
ing intensities of radiation at different EM wave-
are due to the following:
length ranges . The curves depicting relative
intensity of light reflected/absorbed/emitted by (1) Synoptic overview. Remote sensing permits
the objects at different wavelengths are called delineation of regional features and trends.
spectral response curves (Figure 4.1). Using (2) Feasibility. In some inaccessible areas,
information from one or more wavelength remote sensing may be the only way to get
ranges, it is possible to discriminate between dif- the information.
ferent types of ground objects (e.g. water, dry (3) Time saving. The technique saves time and
soil, wet soil, vegetation) and map their distri- man power as information about a large

B. B. S. Singhal et al., Applied Hydrogeology of Fractured Rocks

53
© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 1999
Remote sensing

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- .....
~ Space .......
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System
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ue
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Ter r est r - Radar
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Use r
i al laser Data Digital
tape

(0) (b) (c) (d ) (e) (f )

FIGURE 4 .2 Schematic data flow in a typical remote sensing programme.

area is quickly gathered.
(4) Multidisci plinary applications. The same
remote sensing data can be used by wo rkers
in different disciplines of natural sciences.
The main limitation of the remote sensing
tech nique for geo logical-hydro geo logica l appli-
cations arises fro m th e fact th at th e EM radia-
tions have a limited depth of penetration - say
a fraction of a millimetre in th e visible-near IR
range to a couple of metres (in dry desert co n-
ditions) at the most in the microwave region.
Therefore, subsurface hydrogeological interpre-
tations have to be based, by an d large, on ind i-
rect surface evidence and features such as
land form , lith ology, structure, vegeta tion, soil,
dr ainage, land use, surface ano ma lies and other
guides (see sectio n 4 .8 ).
4.2 Physical principles
EM spectrum and sources of radiations
Electromagnetic spectrum is the ordering of EM
ra diations according to wavelength, frequency,
or energy. The nomencl at ur e used for different
parts of th e EM spectrum is shown in Figure
4.3c.
For remote sensing purposes, the sensors may
utilize either na turally available ra dia tions from
the Sun or the Earth or artificial rad iat ions. T he
tech nique involving artificial illumination is
called active, in contrast to th e one utilizing na t-
urally avai lable ra dia tio ns, w hich is term ed pas-
sive. Solar reflected radia tions dominat e in the
ult raviolet-visible-near IR parts of th e spectru m
(Figure 4.3a), wh ich, therefore, is called the solar
reflectio n region. The Earth-emitted ra diations
dominate in the 3-20 um wavelength region, and
this spectra l regio n is the refore called thermal IR.
Besides, artificial illum inat ion using radar is fre-
quently used in the microwave region.
Atmospheric interactions
The EM radi at ions while passing th rough the
Earth's atmosphere interact with atmospheric
constituents an d are selective ly scattere d,
absorbed and transmitted. Raleigh scattering is
the most impor tant type of scattering. It lead s
to haze and low-contras t pictures in the UV-
blue part s of the EM spectrum. Further, selec-
tive a bso rptio n of the EM radiations takes pl ace
by atmospheric gases such as H 2 0 -vapour, CO 2
and 0 3 etc. The spectra l regions of least atmos-
pheric ab sorption are called atmospheric win-

54