Chapter One

Principle of Remote Sensing

1. Introduction
Remote Sensing is the science and art of obtaining
information about an object, area, or
phenomenon through the analysis of data
acquired by a device that is not in physical contact
with the object, area, or phenomenon under
investigation (Lillesand & Kiefer, 1999).
For example, while reading a book, you are
remotely sensing it, as you extract information
from the words without touching the book in your
eyes.
 Broadly, there are two basic processes
involved in Remote Sensing:

 Data acquisition using devices (sensors)

sensitive to signals coming from the object
under investigation and
 Data analysis using visual and/or digital
techniques to extract information.
Figure 1.1 Elements of Electromagnetic Remote Sensing, which
includes (A) source of energy – The Sun, (B) The atmosphere, (C) The
target, (D) The sensor (E)Data Transmission and Reception
(F)Interpretation and Analysis and (G) Application.
 Figure 1.1 illustrates the various processes involved in
remote sensing, from the illumination source to the
application of the processed image data.
 Using various sensors, we can collect data remotely
that may be analyzed to obtain information about the
target under investigation.
 The information obtained might then assist in
inventorying, mapping, and monitoring earth
resources.
 It can also help to detect environmental problems, in
hazard mapping and monitoring, to better formulate
and implement various decision making processes, to
study our solar system and the universe, etc.
There are various sensors that are currently
being operated from airborne (aircraft) and
space-borne (satellite) platforms.
Most of these sensors record variations in
the Electromagnetic Energy (EME)
distribution.
 In passing from the source, mainly the sun,
to the target and back to the sensor, the
energy interacts with the atmospheric
constituents and the target of interest.
 1.2 EME and EMR Spectrum

• Electromagnetic energy (EME), also known as

electromagnetic radiation (EMR), is the energy
stored in an electromagnetic field.
• It is an energy propagated in the form of and
advancing interaction between electric and
magnetic fields.
• All electromagnetic radiation moves at the
speed of light.
• Electromagnetic spectrum is a continuous
sequence of electromagnetic energy arranged
according to wavelength or frequency.
• The electromagnetic spectrum ranges from the
shorter wavelengths (including gamma and x-
rays) to the longer wavelengths (including
microwaves and broadcast radio waves).
• There are several regions of the electromagnetic
spectrum which are useful for remote sensing.
• The light which our eyes - our "remote sensors" -
can detect is part of the visible spectrum.
• It is important to recognize how small the visible
portion is relative to the rest of the spectrum.
 There is a lot of radiation around us which is
"invisible" to our eyes, but can be detected by
other remote sensing instruments and used to
our advantage.
 The visible wavelengths cover a range from
approximately 0.4 to 0.7 µm.
 The longest visible wavelength is red and the
shortest is violet. Common wavelengths of
what we perceive as particular colors from the
visible portion of the spectrum are listed
below.
 It is important to note that this is the only
portion of the spectrum we can associate with
• Violet: 0.4 - 0.446 µm
• Blue: 0.446 - 0.500 µm
• Green: 0.500 - 0.578 µm
• Yellow: 0.578 - 0.592 µm
• Orange: 0.592 - 0.620 µm
• Red: 0.620 - 0.7 µm
 Blue, green, and red are the primary colors or
wavelengths of the visible spectrum.
 They are defined as such because no single
primary color can be created from the other
two, but all other colors can be formed by
combining blue, green, and red in various
proportions.
 Although we see sunlight as a uniform or
homogeneous color, it is actually composed of
various wavelengths of radiation in primarily
the ultraviolet, visible and infrared portions of
the spectrum.
Figure 1.2 Electromagnetic
Spectrum
 The next portion of the spectrum of interest is
the infrared (IR) region which covers the
wavelength range from approximately 0.7 µm
to 100 µm - more than 100 times as wide as
the visible portion.
 The infrared region can be divided into two
categories based on their radiation properties
- the reflected IR, and the emitted or thermal
IR.
 Radiation in the reflected IR region is used for
remote sensing purposes in ways very similar
to radiation in the visible portion.
 The reflected IR covers wavelengths from
approximately 0.7 µm to 3.0 µm.
 The thermal IR region is quite different than
the visible and reflected IR portions, as this
energy is essentially the radiation that is
emitted from the Earth's surface in the form of
heat.
 The thermal IR covers wavelengths from
approximately 3.0 µm to 100 µm.
 The portion of the spectrum of more recent
interest to remote sensing is the microwave
region from about 1 mm to 1 m.
 This covers the longest wavelengths used for
remote sensing.
 The shorter wavelengths have properties
similar to the thermal infrared region while
the longer wavelengths approach the
wavelengths used for radio broadcasts.
 1.3 Theories of EME
 EMR is a form of energy. The amount of EMR
measured per unit time has the dimension of
Jules per second (J/s) or Watt (W).
 It is generally the information carrier or
communication link between the target and
the sensor.
 The power incident on or emanating from a
body is known as the radiant flux, while the
amount of EMR measured per unit area is
called the radiant flux density (Wm-2).
 The radiant flux density that falls on a given
surface is known as the irradiance, whereas
that leaving a surface is called the emittance
or exitance.
 The most obvious source of EMR for remote
sensing is the Sun.
 However, all matter at temperatures above
absolute zero (0 Kelvin (K) or -273oC)
continuously emits EMR.
 The amount of energy radiated by an object is
calculated using the Stefan-Boltzmann law:
 M=T4........................................................1.1
where M= total radiant exitance from the
surface of material (Wm-2), δ = Stephan-
Boltzmann constant (5.6697 x 10-8 Wm-2 K-4), T=
absolute temperature of the object (K).
 This formula assumes that the object is a
blackbody, i.e., an ideal material that absorbs
all energy incidents on its surface and re-emits
it back effectively.
 In reality, however, not all materials act as
blackbodies. To compensate for that, equation
1.1 is redefined as:
 M = ε(λ)δT4 ……………………………………1.2
 where ε(λ) is the emissivity of the object (the
ratio of radiant existence of an object at a
given temperature and radiant existance of a
blackbody at the same temperature).
Emissivity is the “emitting ability” of a real
material, compared to that of a blackbody.
It is wavelength dependent and can
have values between 0 and 1.
 For example, vegetation, wet soil,
and dry soil have emissivity values of
0.98, 0.95 and 0.92, respectively.
Though any particular material emits
energy with a range of wavelengths,
its absolute temperature determines
in which wavelength it emits the
• The wavelength of maximum spectral radiant
exitance (λm) of the emitted radiation is given
by Wein’s displacement law:

• λm = A/T ...................................... 1.3

• where A = 2898 μm K For example, the sun (T

≈ 6000 K) emits maximum energy in the visible
spectrum, while earth (300 K) has the
dominant wavelength at around 10 μm
(dominantly heat energy, see Figure 1.2).
Figure 1.3 Spectral distribution of energy radiated from blackbodies of
various temperatures.
 Visible light is only one of many forms of
electromagnetic energy.
 Radio waves, heat, ultraviolet rays and X-rays
are other familiar forms.
 Our eyes are sensitive to only visible light,
which makes up very little portion of the EMR,
but represent the dominant energy of the sun.
 Our skin, on the other hand, is sensitive to
heat energy, which is dominantly emitted by
the earth.
 1.4 Concept of black body
 Black body is an ideal substance that absorbs
the entire radiant energy incident on it and
emits radiant energy at the maximum possible
rate per unit area at each wavelength for any
given temperature.
 No actual substance is a true blackbody,
although some substances, such as lampblack,
approach its properties.
 Properties of blackbody radiation:

o Radiation emitted by a blackbody is isotropic and

homogeneous ;
o Blackbody radiation at a given wavelength
depends only on the temperature T;
o Any two blackbodies at the same temperature
emit precisely the same radiation;
o A blackbody emits more radiation than any other
type of an object at the same temperature.
THANK YOU