General account of Remote Sensing and its

Application

Rashmi yadavM.Sc. IInd Sem

INTRODUCTIONRemote means – far away ; Sensing

means – believing or observing or acquiring some information.

Remote sensing means acquiring information of things from a distance with sensors. (without touching the things)

Sensors are like simple cameras except that they not only use visible light but also other bands of the electromagnetic spectrum such as infrared, microwaves and ultraviolet regions.

DISTANCE OF REMOTE SENSING Remote sensing

occurs at a distance from the object or area of interest. It could be 1m, 1000m or greater than 1 million metres.

Nowadays, remote sensing is mainly done from space using satellites.

ENVISAT: Launched 1 March 2002Source- google

DEFINITION OF REMOTE SENSING Remote Sensing is:

“The art and science of obtaining information about an object without being in direct contact with the object” (Jensen 2000).

India’s National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) defined as : “Remote sensing is the technique of deriving information about objects on the surface of the earth without physically coming into contact with them.”

Sea image, 26. Feb. 2000 by NASA (Source- google)

Sinnhuber & Bracher, Remote Sensing, University of Bremen, Summer 2008

Source- google

Photo takenby crew ofApollo 177 Dec 1972

(Source- google

REMOTE SENSING PROCESS(A) Energy Source or Illumination. (B) Radiation and the Atmosphere.(C) Interaction with the Target.(D) Recording of Energy by the Sensor.(E) Transmission, Reception, & Processing. (F) Interpretation and Analysis.(G) Application. Source: Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing

REMOTE SENSING PLATFORMS

Ground-based Airplane-based Satellite-based

(Source- CCRS pdf)

Ground-based sensors are often used to record detailed information about the surface that is compared with information collected from aircraft or satellite sensors.

Aircrafts are often used to collect very detailed images and facilitate the collection of data over virtually any portion of the earth’s surface at any time.

Satellite remote sensing is mainly used for digital imaging technique.

REMOTE SENSING PLATFORMS

HISTORY OF REMOTE SENSINGAerial photography is the original

form of remote sensing (using visible spectrum) started in 1909

Color infrared photography began 1931, then was widely used in agriculture and forestry.

Development of radar (1930-1940). Non-visible spectrum (infrared and radar) were used as tools in remote sensing.

HISTORY OF REMOTE SENSINGAfter the first man-made satellite (Sputnik 1) was

launched on 4 October 1957 by Soviet Union, remote sensing moved to outer space, ignited the Space Race within the Cold War.

The United States' Explorer 6 transmitted the first space photograph of the Earth in August 1959.

Hyperspectral remote sensing emerged (1980), widely used in mineral, oil, etc. exploration

Since then, a large number and advanced types of remote sensing systems have been developed.

NASA Research

Spacecraft(Source- google

APPLICATIONS OF REMOTE SENSING

(Source- CCRS pdf)

Applications of remote sensing

IN AGRICULTURESatellite and airborne

images are used as mapping tools to classify crops, examine their health and viability, and monitor farming practices. Agricultural applications of remote sensing include the following:

crop type classification crop condition assessment crop yield estimation mapping of soil characteristics mapping of soil management practices compliance monitoring (farming

practices)

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing

In Forestry International and domestic forestry applications where remote sensing can be utilized include

sustainable development, biodiversity monitoring deforestation, reforestation

monitoring and managing, commercial logging operations, shoreline and watershed

protection, biophysical monitoring (wildlife

habitat assessment) etc.

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing

IN GEOLOGYRemote sensing is used as a tool

to extract information about the land surface structure, composition or subsurface.

Radar provides an expression of surface topography and roughness. Geological applications of remote sensing include the following:

surficial deposit / bedrock mapping lithological mapping structural mapping sand and gravel (aggregate) exploration/

exploitation mineral exploration

(KS Geological Survey)

Hydrology is the study of water on the Earth's surface, whether flowing above ground, frozen in ice or snow, or retained by soil. Examples of hydrological applications include:

wetlands mapping and monitoring, soil moisture estimation, measuring snow thickness. determining snow-water equivalent, river and lake ice monitoring, flood mapping and monitoring, glacier dynamics monitoring.

water on the Earth's surface

Sea Ice

Land use applications involve both baseline mapping and subsequent monitoring, since timely information is required to know what current quantity of land is in what type of use and to identify the land use changes from year to year.

Land use applications of remote sensing include the following:

natural resource management wildlife habitat protection baseline mapping for GIS input urban expansion.from maps.google.com

APPLICATIONS OF NATIONAL PRIORITY

AgriculturalEfficiency

Air Quality

WaterManagement

Disaster Management

CarbonManagement

Aviation

Ecological Forecasting

Invasive Species

Coastal Management

Homeland Security

Energy Management

Public Health

REFERENCESRemote Sensing and GIS - B. BhattFundamentals of Remote Sensing - A

Canada Centre for Remote Sensing Remote Sensing Tutorial.

Introduction to Remote Sensing - By Gregory Vandeberg Assistant Professor of Geography (ND GIS Users Workshop Bismarck).

Remote Sensing - Bjorn-Martin Sinnhuber and Astrid Bracher

THANK YOU