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Planck Curve
• All types of land cover (rock
types, water bodies, etc.) absorb
a portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum, giving a
distinguishable signature of
electromagnetic radiation.
• Armed with the knowledge of which
wavelengths are absorbed by certain
features and the intensity of the
reflectance, you can analyze a
remotely sensed image and make
fairly accurate assumptions about the
scene. Figure 3 illustrates the
electromagnetic spectrum (Suits, 1983;
Star and Estes, 1990).
Electromagnetic energy
• The electromagnetic (EM) spectrum is the
continuous range of electromagnetic radiation,
extending from gamma rays (highest frequency
& shortest wavelength) to radio waves (lowest
frequency & longest wavelength) and including
visible light.
• The EM spectrum can be divided into seven
different regions —— gamma rays, X-rays,
ultraviolet, visible light, infrared, microwaves
and radio waves.
Use of Microwave Satellite Imagery to Analyses
Tropical Cyclone
• Remote sensing involves the measurement of
energy in many parts of the electromagnetic
(EM) spectrum. The major regions of interest in
satellite sensing are visible light, reflected and
emitted infrared, and the microwave regions.
The measurement of this radiation takes place in
what are known as spectral bands. A spectral
band is defined as a discrete interval of the EM
spectrum. For example the wavelength range of
0.4µm to 0.5µm(µm = micrometers or 10-6 m)
is one spectral band.
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.
• This is the only portion of the spectrum we can
associate with the concept of colors.
Infrared Spectrum
• 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.
• Remote sensing involves the measurement of
energy in many parts of the electromagnetic
(EM) spectrum. The major regions of interest in
satellite sensing are visible light, reflected and
emitted infrared, and the microwave regions.
The measurement of this radiation takes place in
what are known as spectral bands. A spectral
band is defined as a discrete interval of the EM
spectrum. For example the wavelength range of
0.4µm to 0.5µm(µm = micrometers or 10-6 m)
is one spectral band.
SWIR and LWIR
• The near-infrared and middle-infrared
regions of the electromagnetic spectrum
are sometimes referred to as the short
wave infrared region (SWIR). This is to
distinguish this area from the thermal or
far infrared region, which is often referred
to as the long wave infrared region
(LWIR). The SWIR is characterized by
reflected radiation whereas the LWIR is
characterized by emitted radiation.
Absorption / Reflection Spectra
• When radiation interacts with matter, some
wavelengths are absorbed and others are
reflected. To enhance features in image
data, it is necessary to understand how
vegetation, soils, water, and other land
covers reflect and absorb radiation. The
study of the absorption and reflection of
EMR waves is called spectroscopy.
Spectroscopy
There are two types of spectroscopy:
1.absorption spectra—the EMR wavelengths
that are absorbed by specific materials of
interest
2.reflection spectra—the EMR wavelengths
that are reflected by specific materials of
interest
Absorption Spectra
• Absorption is based on the molecular
bonds in the (surface) material. Which
wavelengths are absorbed depends upon
the chemical composition and crystalline
structure of the material. For pure
compounds, these absorption bands are
so specific that the SWIR region is often
called an infrared fingerprint.
Atmospheric Absorption
• In remote sensing, the sun is the radiation
source for passive sensors. However, the
sun does not emit the same amount of
radiation at all wavelengths. Figure 4
shows the solar irradiation curve, which is
far from linear.
• Solar radiation must travel through the Earth’s
atmosphere before it reaches the Earth’s surface. As it
travels through the atmosphere, radiation is affected by
four phenomena (Elachi, 1987):
• absorption—the amount of radiation absorbed by the
atmosphere
• scattering—the amount of radiation scattered away from
the field of view by the atmosphere
• scattering source —divergent solar irradiation scattered
into the field of view
• emission source —radiation re-emitted after absorption
• Reflectance Spectra
• After rigorously defining the incident
radiation (solar irradiation at target), it is
possible to study the interaction of the
radiation with the target material. When an
electromagnetic wave (solar illumination in
this case) strikes a target surface, three
interactions are possible (Elachi, 1987):
• Reflection
• Transmission
• Scattering
• Types of Platforms and Scanning Systems
• The vehicle or carrier for a remote sensor
to collect and record energy reflected or
emitted from a target or surface is called a
platform. The sensor must reside on a
stable platform removed from the target
or surface being observed. Platforms for
remote sensors may be situated on the
ground, on an aircraft or balloon (or some
other platform within the Earth's
atmosphere), or on a spacecraft or
satellite outside of the Earth's atmosphere.
• Typical platforms are satellites and
aircraft, but they can also include radio-
controlled aeroplanes, balloons kits for
low altitude remote sensing, as well as
ladder trucks or 'cherry pickers' for
ground investigations. The key factor for
the selection of a platform is the altitude
that determines the ground resolution
and which is also dependent on the
instantaneous field of view (IFOV) of the
sensor on board the platform.
• Ground-based sensors are often used to
record detailed information about the
surface which is compared with
information collected from aircraft or
satellite sensors. In some cases, this can
be used to better characterize the target
which is being imaged by these other
sensors, making it possible to better
understand the information in the imagery.
• Ground based sensors may be placed
on a ladder, scaffolding, tall building,
cherry-picker, crane, etc.
• Aerial Platforms
• Aerial platforms are primarily stable wing
aircraft, although helicopters are
occasionally used. Aircraft 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 Platforms
• In space, remote sensing is sometimes conducted from the
space shuttle or, more commonly, from satellites.
Satellites are objects which revolve around another object
- in this case, the Earth.
• For example, the moon is a natural satellite, whereas man-
made satellites include those platforms launched for remote
sensing, communication, and telemetry (location and
navigation) purposes.
• Because of their orbits, satellites permit repetitive coverage
of the Earth's surface on a continuing basis. Cost is often a
significant factor in choosing among the various platform
options.
Salient feature of some important satellite platforms
Features Landsat 1,2,3 Landsat 4,5 SPOT IRS-IA IRS-IC
Nature Sun Syn Sun Syn Sun Syn Sun Syn Sun Syn
Temporal 18 16 26 22 24
resolution
(days)
Wavelength Resolution
Bands
(micrometers) (meters)
Band 5 - Shortwave
1.55-1.75 30
Infrared (SWIR) 1
Band 7 - Shortwave
2.09-2.35 30
Infrared (SWIR) 2
Wavelength Resolution
Bands
(micrometers) (meters)
Ultra Blue
Band 1 Blue
(coastal/aerosol)
Band 2 Green Blue
Band 3 Red Green
Band 4 Near Infrared(NIR) Red
Shortwave Infrared
Band 5 Near Infrared (NIR)
(SWIR) 1
Shortwave Infrared
Band 6 Thermal
(SWIR) 1
Shortwave Infrared Shortwave Infrared
Band 7
(SWIR) 2 (SWIR) 2
Band 8 Panchromatic
Band 9 Cirrus
Band 10 Thermal Infrared (TIRS) 1
Band 11 Thermal Infrared (TIRS) 2
Visualization
Pixels, Images and colors
Color Composite Images
• In displaying a color composite image, three
primary colors (red, green and blue) are used.
When these three colors are combined in
various proportions, they produce different
colors in the visible spectrum. Associating each
spectral band (not necessarily a visible band) to
a separate primary color results in a color
composite image.
Many colors can be formed by combining the three primary
colors (Red, Green, Blue) in various proportions.
False Color Composite
• The display color assignment for any band of a
multispectral image can be done in an entirely
arbitrary manner. In this case, the color of a
target in the displayed image does not have any
resemblance to its actual color. The resulting
product is known as a false color composite
image. There are many possible schemes of
producing false color composite images.
However, some scheme may be more suitable
for detecting certain objects in the image.
Natural Color Composite
• When displaying a natural color composite
image, the spectral bands (some of which may
not be in the visible region) are combined in
such a way that the appearance of the displayed
image resembles a visible color photograph, i.e.
vegetation in green, water in blue, soil in brown
or grey, etc. Many people refer to this composite
as a "true color" composite. However, this term
may be misleading since in many instances the
colors are only simulated to look similar to the
"true" colors of the targets
Color Landsat 7 Landsat 8
Landsat 5 Bands
Bands Combination
Combination