Definition

• Remote Sensing is an Art

– Since it involves cartography
• Remote Sensing is a Science
– It involves the physical principles of
Electromagnetic Radiation, optics, etc.,
• Remote Sensing is a Technology
– It involves the technology of satellite launching,
monitoring, retrieving and disseminating details
 Concept of Remote Sensing
As the Child reads the words in a
book, he is employing Remote
Sensing.
His EYES are acting as SENSORS
that respond to the LIGHT
Reflected from the Page. Here, the
Source of Light is The “Lamp”

•The DATA the eyes are acquiring, are impulses corresponding

to the amount of light reflected from the ‘Light and Dark Areas’
of the page.
•The same analogy applies in Remote Sensing.
Energy is must for Remote Sensing
-Sun is the natural source of Energy

-Artificial sources like Lamp ,Bulb,Tube

light,Flash in a camera,Transmitter in the
Sensor

In Photographic Camera :
AT DAYTIME : Sun is the source of energy
AT NIGHT TIME OR IN STUDIO : Flash of camera or
Artificial Light is used as source of energy
 REMOTE SENSING INVOLVES FOLLOWING SIX STAGES:

• SOURCE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY (SUN OR TRANSMITTER

IN THE SENSOR)

• TRANSMISSION OR PROPAGATION OF ENERGY FROM THE

SOURCE TO THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH

• INTERACTION OF ENERGY WITH THE FEATURES ON THE SURFACE

OF EARTH

• RETRANSMISSION OF ENERGY THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE TO

REMOTE SENSING SENSORS

• GENERATION OF SENSOR DATA IN PICTORIAL AND/OR DIGITAL

FORM, AND

• DATA ANALYSIS AND GENERATION OF THEMATIC MAPS

 Dish Antenna

NRSA’s Data Reception and Processing System at Shadnagar,

Hyderabad
 ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
The first requirement for remote
sensing is to have an energy source to
illuminate the target

OR

The sensed energy is being emitted by

the target.

This energy is in the form of electromagnetic

radiation.
Electromagnetic radiation
•It consists of an electrical field(E) which varies in
magnitude in a direction perpendicular to the
direction in which the radiation is travelling, and a
magnetic field (M) oriented at right angles to the
electrical field.
• Both these fields travel at the speed of light (c).
 Two characteristics of electromagnetic radiation are particularly important for
understanding remote sensing.
 These are the wavelength and frequency.
The wavelength is the length of one wave cycle, which can be measured as
the distance between successive wave crests.
Wavelength is usually represented by the Greek letter lambda (λ).
Wavelength is measured in metres (m) or some factor of metres such as
nanometres (nm, 10-9 metres), micrometres (μm, 10-6 metres) (μm, 10-6 metres)
or centimetres (cm, 10-2 metres).
Frequency refers to the number of cycles of a wave passing a
fixed point per unit of time.
Frequency is normally measured in hertz (Hz), equivalent to one cycle per
second, and various multiples of hertz.
 LOGIC OF REMOTE SENSING

• REMOTE SENSING REFERS TO THE SENSING OR

DETECTION OF ELECTRO MAGNETIC
RADIATIONS (EMR) WHICH ARE
REFLECTED/SCATTERED OR EMITTED BY AN
OBJECT.

• EMR FORMS THE COMMUNICATION LINK

BETWEEN THE MATERIAL OF INTEREST AND
REMOTELY LOCATED SENSOR
 LOGIC OF REMOTE SENSING

• WHEN THE RADIATION IS INCIDENT ON

MATTER, IT CAN BE SCATTERED, ABSORBED
OR TRANSMITTED. ALL THE PROCESSES ARE
STRONGLY DEPENDENT ON THE WAVE
LENGTH OF INCIDENT RADIATIONS AS WELL
AS ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR STRUCTURE OF
MATERIAL AND ITS CONDITIONS
 Principle of Remote Sensing
Interaction between incident radiation and the
targets of interest

Everything in nature has its own unique

distribution of reflected, emitted and
absorbed radiation
These spectral characteristics, if ingeniously
exploited, can be used to distinguish one
thing from another or to obtain information
about shape, size and other physical and
chemical properties
• Spectral reflectance

The reflectance of earth surface features

may be quantified by measuring the
portion of incident energy that is reflected.
This is measured as a function of
wavelength this is called spectral
reflectance.
 Types of Remote Sensing

Based on platforms used

there are two types of remote sensing

1. Aerial Remote Sensing

2. Satellite Remote Sensing
 PLATFORMS FOR RS IMAGES

• ANY MOVING VEHICLE THAT CAN CARRY A

SENSOR CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A PLATFORM.

• TRUCK
• BALOONS
• AIRCRAFT
• ROCKET
• SATELLITE
Satellite Remote Sensing
Types of Satellites:
Polar Orbiting or Sun
Geostationary Satellite
Synchronous Satellites
 Types of Remote Sensing
With respect to the Source of Energy
Passive Remote Sensing
Remote sensing which is based on the illumination of a scene by
electromagnetic radiation from a natural source (SUN)
Active Remote Sensing
Depends on an artificial "light" source to illuminate the scene.
How is EMR used in remote sensing?
In Passive:
Remote sensing devices detect EMR emitted by the Sun after it has interacted
with the Earth’s surface.
Remote sensing devices detect EMR emitted by the Earth itself.

In Active:
Remote sensing devices generate their own EMR, bounce it off the Earth’s
surface and measure the EMR returned (e.g. RADAR, LIDAR)
Remote sensing is classified into three types with respect to the wavelength
regions;
Visible and Reflective Infrared Remote Sensing,0.4μm to 3 μm

Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing,3 μm to 35 μm

Microwave Remote Sensing,1mm to 1m

 WHAT IS A SENSOR?

Sensor is an electronic device that

receives electromagnetic radiation
and converts it into a signal
Electrical - Optical Sensor
Electro-optical sensors are somewhat similar
to digital cameras in that they use an array of
electronic sensors, in combination with
mirror/lens optical devices to scan a scene
and record an image. Each sensor in the
array produces an electrical signal for each
wavelength detected. In the case of satellite
sensors, the continuous electrical signals are
usually converted into digital numbers
representing up to 256 gray levels before
being transmitted to Earth-based receiving
stations.
 Energy Interactions with Earth Surface Features
When Electromagnetic energy is incident on any given
earth surface feature, the following fundamental energy
interactions with the feature are possible:

– Scattering
– Absorption
– Transmission
– Reflection
– Emission
 Electromagnetic Energy Interactions
Energy recorded by remote sensing systems undergoes
fundamental interactions that should be understood to
properly interpret the remotely sensed data.

The energy:
• is radiated by atomic particles at the source (the Sun),
• propagates through the vacuum of space at the speed
of light,
• interacts with the Earth's atmosphere,
• interacts with the Earth's surface,
• interacts with the Earth's atmosphere once again, and
• finally reaches the remote sensor where it interacts
with various optical systems, filters, emulsions, or
detectors.
 Interactions with the Atmosphere
Before radiation used for remote sensing reaches
the Earth's surface it has to travel through some
distance of the Earth's atmosphere

Particles and gases in the atmosphere can affect the

incoming light and radiation:

A) Scattering B) Absorption
 Interaction of EMR with the atmosphere

EMR interacts with particles in the atmosphere and its

constituent gases
3 processes serve to attenuate the signal we are trying to
detect:

1. Scattering:

2. Absorption: retention of EMR by molecules in the

atmosphere (H2O, O3)

3. Refraction: ‘bending’ of EMR as it passes through the

atmosphere
 Absorption
• Absorption is the process by which radiant energy is
absorbed and converted into other forms of energy. An
absorption band is a range of wavelengths (or
frequencies) in the electromagnetic spectrum within which
radiant energy is absorbed by substances such as water
(H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), ozone (O3), and
nitrous oxide (N2O).

• The cumulative effect of the absorption by the various

constituents can cause the atmosphere to close down in
certain regions of the spectrum. This is bad for remote
sensing because no energy is available to be sensed.
 Atmospheric windows
In certain parts of the spectrum such as the
visible region (0.4 - 0.7  m), the atmosphere
does not absorb all of the incident energy but
transmits it effectively. Parts of the spectrum that
transmit energy effectively are called
atmospheric windows .

Certain wavelengths of radiation are affected far

more by absorption than by scattering. This is
particularly true of infrared and wavelengths
shorter than visible light.
Absorption of the Sun’s Incident Electromagnetic
Energy in the
Region from 0.1 to 30 m by Various Atmospheric
Gases

window
 Important Windows
Band (m) Region
0.3 - 0.9 Visible
1.0 - 1.1 Near/Reflected IR
1.2 1.3 Near/Reflected IR
1.5 1.8 Near/Reflected IR
2.0 2.4 Near/Reflected IR
3.5 4.0 Thermal IR
4.6 4.9 Thermal IR
8.0 13.0 Thermal IR
Adapted from W.G. Rees (1990), Physical Principles of Remote Sensing
 Important Windows
Band (GHz) Region
0.3 - 0.9 Microwave
1.0 - 1.1 Microwave
1.2 1.3 Microwave
1.5 1.8 Microwave
2.0 2.4 Microwave
3.5 4.0 Microwave

Adapted from W.G. Rees (1990), Physical Principles of Remote

Sensing
 Atmospheric Layers and Constituents
Major subdivisions of the atmosphere and the types of
molecules and aerosols found in each layer.

O3 , Stratospheric aerosols
20 km

15 km

O2, CO2, trace gases

10 km
Altitude

8 km

2-3 km

Gas molecules (Rayleigh scattering)

Terrain surface
H2O, tropospheric aerosols
 SATELLITE IMAGERIES OF DIFFERENT SENSORS

Spatial resolution describes the minimum size of the object which can be separately
identified and measured
•IRS-1D LISS-III sensor has spatial or ground resolution of 23.5 m in bands 2, 3 & 4
and 70.5 m in band 5
•the most important design parameter of scanner is the instantaneous field of view
(ifov). the smaller the angle, better the spatial resolution
•IRS-P6 LISS-IV sensor has spatial resolution of 5.8 m in bands 2, 3 & 4
INDIA & NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES
AS VIEWED BY INSAT – 1D

CLOUDS

CLOUDS

SOURCE WWW.IMD.ERNET.IN
ADVANTAGES OF REMOTE SENSING
FOR NATURAL RESOURCE SURVEYS

• LARGE AREA COVERAGE – ONE IRS 1D SCENE COVERS 140

KM X 140 KM AREA EVERY 24 DAYS

• DATA ACQUISITION OVER INACCESSIBLE AREAS i.e. SNOW

BOUND HIGH MOUNTAINS , THICK FORESTS, MARSHY
LANDS, FLOODED AREAS

• SAME RS DATA CAN BE USED FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES &

APPLICATIONS

• AMENABILITY OF REMOTE SENSING DATA TO COMPUTER

PROCESSING & THUS MAKING THE ANALYSIS FAST &
ACCURATE