Remote Sensing

Remote Sensing

• Gives us “the Big Picture”

• Allows us to see things from the larger perspective.

• Allows us to see things we otherwise might miss.

• Definition:

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 contact with the object, area, or phenomenon under investigation.

The Need for Remote SensingMeteorology:

Profiling of atmospheric temperature, pressure and water vapor content.

Oceanography:

Measurement of the sea’s surface temperature, mapping ocean currents and wave energy spectra.

Glaciology:

Mapping the distribution and motion of ice sheets and sea ice, determining the navigability of sea ice.

Geology,Geomorphology:

Identification of rock type, location of geological faults and anomalies, observing tectonic motion.

Topography:

Obtaining accurate elevation data and referring them to a given coordinate system, production and revision of maps.

Agriculture, Forestry:

Monitoring the extent and type of vegetation cover and its state of health, mapping soil type and determining its water content.

Hydrology:

Assessing water resources, forecasting meltwater run-off from snow.

Disaster Control:

Warning of sand and dust storms, avalanches, landslides, flooding etc.,monitoring of pollution.

Planning Applications:

Generation of inventories of land use and monitoring changes, assessing resources, performing traffic surveys.

Aerial View - The viewer is observing from above the object.

Synoptic View - The viewer is able to see an object in relation to other objects.

Vertical View - The sensor is directly overhead.

Oblique View - The sensor is not directly overhead; it is taking the image at an angle.

Oblique View of Southern California

Platform Platform - the device to which the sensor is attached

SensorSensor - the device that actually gathers the remotely sensed data

Two Parts of Remote Sensing

Paris, 1858

Pigeon Photographers

Actual Pigeon Pictures

Post-quake San Francisco,

1906

Wilbur Wright and his first aerial photograph of France.

Landsat Satellite

Ox-Bow of the Mississippi

High Altitude Platform

High Altitude Balloon Platform

Landsat sensor array

True color film

Infrared film

Landsat Image