Introduction of Remote

Sensing and GIS

Dr. Abhijit M. Zende
Professor and Head,
Department of Civil Engineering,
Dr. Daulatrao Aher college of Engineering, Karad
zenabhi31@yahoo.co.in
+919822842539
 DEFINITION:
THE TECHNIQUE OF ACQUIRING

INFORMATION ABOUT AN OBJECT BY RECORDING

DEVICE(SENSOR) I.e. NOT IN PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE

OBJECT BY MEASURING PORTION OF REFLECTED OR EMITTED

ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION FROM THE EARTH’S SURFACE.

• PRINCIPLE OF REMOTE SENSING:

– Different objects return (reflects or emits) different amount &

kind of energy in different bands of electromagnetic spectrum
incident upon it.

– This unique property depends on the structural, chemical,

physical properties of material & also surface roughness,
angel of incidence, intensity & wavelength of radiant energy.

– RS is multidisciplinary science which includes optic,

spectroscopic, photography, computer science, electronics &
telecommunication, satellite tech. etc.

– All these technologies are integrated to act as remote

sensing.
 STAGES IN REMOTE SENSING:

1. Energy source:
Emission of electromagnetic radiation or EMR (sun/
self emission) .

2. Energy Interactions With Atmosphere:

Transmission of energy from the source to the surface
of the earth as well as ABSORPTION & SCATTERING.

3. Interaction of EMR With the Earth Surface:

Reflection & emission transmitted or absorbed by the
surface.
 STAGES IN REMOTE SENSING:

4. Recording of Energy by the Remote Sensor:

Sensor not in touch with the earth’s surface

5. Sensor Data Output:

Data transmission & reception.

6. Data (Image) Processing & Analysis:

Extraction of information @ the earth surface features.

7. Application :
Extracted information is utilized in decision making for solving problems.
 TYPES OF RS
1. Based on source of energy

A) PASSIVE SENSORS:

Remote Sensing systems measuring the naturally

available energy ( Solar energy: either reflected or absorbed)
are called as Passive Sensors.

B) ACTIVE SENSORS:
Remote Sensing systems which provides their own
source of energy for illumination are known as Active Sensors.
e.g. SLAR, SAR
 TYPES OF RS
2. Based on range of electromagnetic spectrum

A) OPTICAL RS:
RS of Visible, NIR,MIR 0.3 m--3m.

B) THERMAL RS
RS of emitted radiation 3 m--5m. &
8 m--16m.
C) MICROWAVE RS
RS in higher wavelength 1mm—1m
 ADVANTAGES OF RS

 Synoptic View
 Facilitates the study of various earth surface features
in their spatial relation to each other.
 Helps to delineate the reqd. features & phenomenon.

 Accessibility
 Possible to gather information @ the area
when ground survey is not possible.
e.g. Mountainous areas & foreign areas.
 ADVANTAGES OF RS
 Time conservation
Information @ the large area is gathered quickly
saving time efforts of human.
 Multidisciplinary Applications
Remote Sensing data is processed & used in
different disciplines like
• GEOLOGY
• FORESTRY
• LANDUSE
• AGRICULTURE
• DEFENCE
• URBAN PLANNING
• FISHERIES
• CIVIL ENGINEERING etc…
 ELECTROMAGNETIC
RADIATION
A) WAVE MODEL.

B) PARTICLE THEORY.

Radiation consists of electrical and

magnetic fields perpendicular to each
other, moving in wave pattern.
i) Wavelength ()
ii) Frequency ()
iii) Amplitude (A)
 ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
Representing the continuum of EMR arranged on the basis of wavelength and frequency.

Electromagnetic spectrum ranges as…

Gamma Ray -------------- shorter wavelengths

X-ray
Ultraviolet
Visible spectrum ---------- 400nm—700nm
Infrared
Microwaves
Radiowaves ----------------- Longer wavelength
 ENERGY INTERACTION WITH
THE ATMOSPHERE
Atmosphere affect incoming radiation by
• Scattering :- Rayleigh scattering
Mie scattering
Non selective scattering
• Absorption :- O3 Ozone
CO2 Carbon Dioxide
H2O Water Vapour
• Refraction :- Atmospheric layer of varying
clarity, humidity, temperature.
 ATMOSPHERIC WINDOWS
 These are the regions in the electromagnetic
spectrum for which the atmosphere is
transparent.
 These wavelengths are easily transmitted
through atmosphere.
 These are useful regions for remote sensing.
 0.3-0.4, 0.4-0.7, 0.7-3.0, 3.0-5.0, 8.0-14.0, 1.0cm-1.0m.

Atmospheric ERS : C 5.7 cm

Scattering JERS : L 23.5 cm

Atmospheric (Absorption / Transmission) windows

 INTERACTIONS OF ENERGY WITH
THE EARTH SURFACE
Radiation not absorbed or scattered in the atmosphere
reaches & interacts with the Earth’s surface.

Reflection :- Light is redirected as it strikes a non-

transparent surface.

• Specular reflection – like mirror is undesirable in RS.

• Diffused Reflection – If surface is rough relative to  useful in RS.
• Transmission & absorption – No reflection.
• Earth’s emission :- Objects at temperature above 0o emits radiations.
 REFLECTION CHARACTERISTICS
OF EARTH COVER
It may be qualified by measuring the portion of
incident energy that is reflected.
• Vegetation :- Red & Blue colors are absorbed.
Green & NIR are reflected.
• Water :- All radiation are absorbed.
Blue or Blue-Green colors are little
reflected.
• Soil :- Depend on moisture, organic
content, texture, structure,
iron oxide content etc.
Spectral Reflectance Curves
 SATELLITES & SENSORS
– PLATFORMS:
Platform is a stage to mount the
camera or sensors to collect information
remotely about an object or surface.

e.g. GROUND
BALLOON
AIRCRAFT
SPACE CRAFT/
SATELLITE
 SATELLITE ORBIT
• Path followed by the satellite.
• Geostationary satellite :-
1. Revolve at the speed matching the rotation of the
Earth( 24 hours ).
2. Located at very high altitudes about 36000Km.
3. Are put in the equatorial plane orbiting West to East.
4. One satellite can view one-third of the globe.
5. Used for weather monitoring & communication
(INSAT, V-Sat).
8/23/2016 Engineering Applications of RS and 39
GIS
 SUN-SYNCHRONOUS SATELLITES

 Inclined North-South orbit.

 Inclination carries the satellite Westward.
 Its track covers each area of the world at a
Constant time of the day ( local sun
time ).
 Descending pass – day
 Ascending pass – shadow ( night )
 Payload of passive sensors.
 Active sensors can acquire image in
ascending pass also.
5/29/03 Engineering Applications of RS and 34
GIS
 Day-Time
Descending
Path

Sun-Synchronous (Polar orbiting) : Remote Sensing Satellites

Night-Time
Ascending
Path

Geo-Synchronous (Equatorial Orbiting) Satellites :

Telecommunications / Weather
 SWATH (Two Dimensional Image
Of Earth Surface For An Area )
• As a satellite revolve around the Earth, the
sensors see a certain portion of Earth surface
known as swath.
• For satellite images it is very wide between 10 -100
Km.
• The apparent Westward shift of satellite (due to
Earth’s rotation ) allows the satellite Swath to
cover a new area with each pass.
5/29/03 Engineering Applications of RS and 43
GIS
1 2

1. Ground Segment
(Receiving Antenna)
2. Satellite Path
(Data Acquisition)

3. Successive Paths
(Gap between Paths)
4 Stereoscopic
Data Acquisition

3 4
 RESOLUTION
It refers to the system’s ability to record & display fine details.

In RS there are four types of resolution,…

• Spatial resolution

• Spectral resolution

• Radiometric resolution

• Temporal resolution.

Spatial resolution :- The size of the smallest possible feature that

can be detected by the sensors.
• Spectral resolution :- It describes the ability of a sensors to
define fine wavelength intervals. Many RS systems record
energy over several separate wavelengths ranges at various
spectral resolution. These are multispectral scanners.
Advanced multispectral sensors detect hundreds of very
narrow spectral bands through the spectrum.

• Radiometric resolution :- Every time an image is acquired on

film or by a sensor, its sensitivity to the magnitude of the
electromagnetic energy determines the radiometric
resolution.

• The radiometric resolution of an imaging system describes its

ability to discriminate very slight differences in the energy.
• Temporal resolution :- Temporal resolution refers to the
frequency of obtaining data over a given area. It is related to
the revisit period or repeativity.
 Spatial Resolution
30m : LS-TM, 80m : LS-MSS
 Spatial Resolution
10m : SPOT-PLA, 20m : SPOT-MLA
TUTICORIN
 MULTISPECTRAL SCANNING

A scanning system that is useful to collect

data over a range of wavelengths is called MSS.

Across track scanning Along track scanning

scan lines ar to scan lines Ilel to

motion of system motion of system
 SATELLITE IN ORBITS
LANDSAT
NASA ( National Aeronautic & Space Administration )
launched the LANDSAT series. It is Land Observation
Satellite Series.

 RBV :- Return Beam vidicon.

 MSS :- Multispectral scanner. Across track, 4 spectral band

data with 80 meters resolution & 6 bits radiometric resolution.

 TM :- Thematic map per, 7 ban data for 6 bands, spatial

resolution of 30 metres & for thermal band, 120 metres,

 ETM :- Enhanced Thematic map per, 8 band data.

 Swath :- 185 Km.

 SPOT SATELLITE
Altitude :- 832 Km.

Revisit :- 26 days.

Payload :-
HRV – High resolution visible sensor.
i ) PAN mode 10 m,

i i ) MSS mode 20 m.

HRVIR – Spot 4 – 10 m resolution

VEGETATION – Spot 4 – 1.165 Km resolution.

 INDIAN REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE

OBS. NO. MISSIONS SENSORS ALTITUDE REVISIT

(Km) (DAYS)
LISS – I
1. IRS-1A 904 22
LISS – II
LISS – I
2. IRS-1B 904 22
LISS – II
PAN 05
3. IRS-1C LISS–III 817 24
WIFS 05
 PAN 05
4 IRS- 1D LISS-III 817 24
WIFS 05

5 IRS- P2 LISS-II 817 24

WIFS
6 IRS- P3 MOS 817 24
ASTRO-
-NOMY
OCR
7 IRS- P4 MSMR 727 03
IRS Satellite
OBS. SENSOR SPECTRAL SPATIAL SWATH
RES. RES.
NO.

1. LISS-I 4 72.50 M 148.0

BAND KM
2. LISS-II 4 36.25 M 074.0
BAND KM
3. LISS-III 4 23.50 M 141.0
BAND KM
4. PAN SINGLE 05.80 M 070.0
BAND KM
5. WIFS 2 188.0 M 810.0
DELHI
HYDERABAD
HOUSTON
 LISS III
MANASAROVAR
GOA
MUMBAI
 WIFS
WEST COAST
WIFS
INDIA
 Remote Sensing Satellites
and Sensors
• Landsat : 1, 2, 4,5,7 : MSS : 2 VIS+2 NIR
• 3. MSS : 2 VIS+2 NIR+1TIR

• Landsat 4,5,7 : Bands :1,2,3,4,5,7 VIS and NIR

– Band 6 : TIR

• IRS – 1A/1B-LISSI/II, 1C/1D-LISS-III

4 Bands : 2 VIS + 2 NIR

• SPOT : MLA : 3 bands, PLA : 1 Band (PAN)

• ERS Microwave SAR
• JERS Microwave SAR
 SATELLITE DATA RECEPTION,

TRANSMISSION & PROCESSING

Three main options form transmitting data
acquired by the satellite to the surface.
 Data can be directly transmitted to the earth if
a Ground Receiving Station (GRS) is in the line
of sight of the structure.
 Data can be recorded on board the satellite for
transmission to a GRS at later time.
 Data can also be relayed to the GRS through
the TDRSS( Tracking & Data Relay Satellite
System ) which contains series of
Geosynchronous, communication satellite .
 In India
GRS is located at Shadnagar. NRSA ( National
Remote Sensing Agency ) acquires process, &
distribute
the satellite data from Indian as well as other satellites.

Satellite (IRS,LANDSAT, SPOT,

NOAA, IKONOS )

GRS ( Shadnagar – data in raw digital

format )
NRSA (processing to correct errors &
Convert to standard format )
 DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING
i.e. manipulation of the images with the help of a
computer system.

Hardware software
monitor, ( categorization into
CPU three main functions)
secondary storage device 1. Image processing

( floppy disc drive, 2. Image enhancement

hard disc, scanners, etc) 3. Image classification
 IMAGE PROCESSING
Preliminary to the main analysis :-

Removal of error introduced in the imaging.

Processes are designed to recognize &
compensate for ,…
Errors
Noise
Geometric distortions,

introduced into the data during the

scanning, transmission & recording processes.
 PREPROCESSING
Radiometric corrections

Atmospheric corrections

Geometric corrections

1. Radiometric correction :- Radiometric errors are caused

by detector imbalance & atmospheric deficiencies.

Radiometric corrections are transmitted on the data in

order to remove errors, which are atmospheric

correction.
geometrically independent. Radiometric corrections
are also called as. Cosmetic corrections & are done
to improve the visual appearance of the image.

Some Radiometric corrections are ,…

correction of missing scan line

correction for periodic line striping

random noise corrections

2. Atmospheric corrections :- True ground-leaving
radiance is altered by scattering & hence it needs
corrections.

3. Geometric corrections :- The transformation of

remotely sensed images so as it has a scale &
projections of a map .is called as Geometric
correction. Systematic & nonsystematic disorders
are corrected.
 IMAGE ENHANCEMENT
Image enhancement technique improve
the quality & appearance of an image for human
visual analysis & subsequently for machine also.

Common techniques are …

• Contrast stretch ,… linear & nonlinear

• Spatial filtering
• Band rationing
• principal component analysis
 Visual Interpretation
• The digital data can be transformed to Photographic Images
– B&W individual Band Images or 3-band Colour Composites
• Elements : Tone / Colour, Texture, Pattern, Association, Shape, Size,
Shadow.
• Tone / Colour represents the reflectance of the terrain feature in a
given spectral band : Black to White gray shades / levels or Blue,
Green, Red, Yellow Magenta, Cyan, colours.
• Texture refers to the aggregation of tones or repetition of tones in
spatial context : fine (water, grass, paddy, wheat, sand, etc.), Coarse
(hills & valleys, forests, urban areas, etc.) and Medium (other).
• Pattern refers to the spatial arrangement of objects : Urban,
agriculture, hilly, water, Roads, Railways, Canals, etc.
• Shape, size and shadow : aid in the recognition of the features and
therefore in interpretation of their significance
• Multi-Thematic Maps : derived from Aerial Photographs : Topography :
elevations, slope, Drainage, Soils, Geology, landuse, etc.
 Plate 7.a Landsat 5 TM band 2 (green) image. Plate 7.b Landsat 5 TM band 3 (red) image

Plate 7.c Landsat 5 TM band 4 (near infrared) image

Plate 7.d FCC:Landsat 5 TM band 2,3 and 4.(Band 4, 3 and 2 as RGB)
Plate 1.a IRS-LISS-II Band 2 Image Plate 1b. IRS-LII-II band 3 Image

Plate 1. c IRS-LISS-II Band 4 Image Plate 2. FCC (IRS 1A LISS-II : (bands 4,3 and 2 as RGB)
Photo/Image Interpretation Elements

TONE
Tone Photo Interpretation Elements Texture
Photo Interpretation Elements

Pattern
Photo Interpretation Elements

Shadow
 IMAGE CLASSIFICATION
We normally categorize the objects on the
Earth’s surface as forest, agriculture field, river,
settlements etc.
Digital image classification is the process
of assigning pixels to classes. These classes
represents regions on the image or map & are
identified by the number or symbol.
classification

supervised
unsupervised
Supervised :- It is the process of known identity
(trained pixels ) to classify the pixels, whose
identity is not known.
Unsupervised :- classifiers do not utilized training
data as basis of classification; classes are spectral
classes; need of reference data to identify
informational value of the spectral class.
Sample area known as training areas.
Statistics are calculated for training sites. And
every pixels within & outside the training site is
assigned to a class or category it most likely
resembles.
DIFFERENT PHASES IN SUPERVISED
CLASSIFICATION
• Appropriate classification scheme for analysis is
adopted.
• Selection of representative training site & collection of
spectral signatures.
• Evaluation of statistics for the training site spectrum
data.
• The statistics are analyzed to select the appropriate
features ( bands ) to be used in the classification
process.
• Appropriate classification algorithm is selected.
• Classify the image into N classes.
• Statistically analyze & evaluate the classification
scheme.
 Forest around National
Park Borivali
Tulsi Lake : Clear Water
Barren land
Central Railway
Urban – Mixed Area
Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg

Vihar Lake : Clear Water

Powai Lake : Clear Water

Salt Pans

Mangroves
IIT Campus
Thane Creek : Turbid Water

Eastern Express Highway

Mumbai – Thane Creek Area : Landuse-Landcover details

Classified MS image (MLH)
(IRS-LISS-II Bands 4,3,2)

LEGEND

WATER

TURBID

MARSHY

URBAN

BARREN

LIGHT VEG.

THICK VEG.

SALT PANS
Thermal IR-Sensing

• Thermal Ranges:3 to 5 and 8 to15 m.

• Emittance :Radiation, Day and Night Temperature Changes,
Emittances of terrain features.
• Radiometers and Scanners (Cooled Detectors): Low-Energy,
Coarse-Resolutions : Spatial and Spectral.
• Day and Night Time Thermal Images : Geology, Geo-Thermal,
Volcanic, Fires,.Thermal pollution, , etc.
• Thermal Data : Landsat-3 : Band-8, Landsat- 4 / 5 : Band 6.
Day and Night - time.
• Interpretation : Cool : Dark (low emittances), Hot : Bright (high
emittances)
Landsat 5TM Daytime and Nighttime TIR Registered Data
HERAT
LAHASA
LISS III
JAIPUR
PAN+LISS III
MUMBAI
 LISS III
KRISHNA
 LISS III
WEST BENGAL
WIFS
 THANK YOU

Happy “REMOTE” Sensing

Dr. Abhijit M. Zende