Remote sensing

INTRODUCION
definition: "Remote sensing is the science of acquiring information about the Earth's surface
without actually being in contact with it.
This is done by sensing and recording reflected or emitted energy and processing, analyzing,
and applying that information." In much of remote sensing, the process involves an interaction
between incident radiation and the targets of interest. This is exemplified by the use of imaging
systems where the following seven elements are involved. Note, however that remote sensing
also involves the sensing of emitted energy and the use of non-imaging sensors.
Elements Involved in Remote Sensing
In the process of Remote Sensing involves an interaction between the incoming radiation and
interest of target. This is done by using imaging and non-imaging system; however the following
steps are involved in the process

1) Energy Source or Illumination (A) - the first requirement for remote sensing is to have an
energy source which illuminates or provides electromagnetic energy to the target of
interest.
2) Radiation and the Atmosphere (B) - as the energy travels from its source to the target, it
will come in contact with and interact with the atmosphere it passes through. This
interaction may take place a second time as the energy travels from the target to the
sensor.
3) Interaction with the Target (C) - once the energy makes its way to the target through the
atmosphere; it interacts with the target depending on the properties of both the target
and the radiation.

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 4) Recording of Energy by the Sensor (D) - after the energy has been scattered by, or
emitted from the target, we require a sensor (remote - not in contact with the target) to
collect and record the electromagnetic radiation.
5) Transmission, Reception, and Processing (E) - the energy recorded by the sensor has to
be transmitted, often in electronic form, to a receiving and processing station where the
data are processed into an image (hardcopy and/or digital).
6) Interpretation and Analysis (F) - the processed image is interpreted, visually and/or
digitally or electronically, to extract information about the target which was illuminated.
7) Application (G) - the final element of the remote sensing process is achieved when we
apply the information we have been able to extract from the imagery about the target
in order to better understand it, reveal some new information, or assist in solving a
particular problem.
1) Source of Energy
The first and most important component of Remote Sensing is the Energy source to illuminate
the Target. The energy is in the form of Electromagnetic Radiation. It is either natural
originating from the Sun or earth by emission, or by artificial means.
Passive vs. Active Sensing
So far, throughout this chapter, we have made various references to the sun as a source of
energy or radiation. The sun provides a very convenient source of energy for remote sensing.
The sun's energy is either reflected, as it is for visible wavelengths, or absorbed and then re-
emitted, as it is for thermal infrared wavelengths. Remote sensing systems which measure
energy that is naturally available are called passive sensors. Passive sensors can only be used to
detect energy when the naturally occurring energy is available. For all reflected energy, this can
only take place during the time when the sun is illuminating the Earth. There is no reflected
energy available from the sun at night. Energy that is naturally emitted (such as thermal
infrared) can be detected day or night, as long as the amount of energy is large enough to be
recorded.
Active sensors, on the other hand, provide their own energy source for illumination. The sensor
emits radiation which is directed toward the target to be investigated. The radiation reflected
from that target is detected and measured by the sensor. Advantages for active sensors include
the ability to obtain measurements anytime, regardless of the time of day or season. Active
sensors can be used for examining wavelengths that are not sufficiently provided by the sun,
such as microwaves, or to better control the way a target is illuminated. However, active
systems require the generation of a fairly large amount of energy to adequately illuminate
targets. Some examples of active sensors are a laser fluorosensor and a synthetic

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Electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic energy refers to all the energy that moves with the velocity of light in a
harmonic wave pattern. EMR consists of an Electrical field and Magnetic field. The electrical
field varies magnitude in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the radiation is
travelling and magnetic field oriented to the right angles to the electrical field.

Two characteristics of electromagnetic radiation are particularly important for understanding

remote sensing. These are the wavelength and frequency.
Wave length means the length of one wave cycle or the distance from any position in a cycle to
the same position in the next cycle. It is usually represented by Greek letter lambda (λ). Wave
length is usually measured in micrometer (mm, 10-6m) and the nanometer (nm,10-9m).
Frequency refers to the number of wave crests passing in a given point in Specific unit of time.
It is normally measured in hertz (Hz). Wave length and frequency is related to following formula
ν=c/λ
v = Frequency c = Speed of Light λ = Wavelength

Electromagnetic Spectrum

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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. These are
divided by ranges called Spectral bands.

Ultraviolet (UV) region ( 0.30 µm - 0.38 µm)

For most purposes, the ultraviolet or UV portion of the spectrum has the shortest wavelengths
which are practical for remote sensing. This radiation is just beyond the violet portion of the
visible wavelengths, hence its name. Some Earth surface materials, primarily rocks and
minerals, fluoresce or emit visible light when illuminated by UV radiation.
Visible ( 0.4 µm - 0.7 µm)
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 colours 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 the concept of colours.

Violet: 0.4 - 0.446 µm

Blue: 0.446 - 0.500 µm

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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 colours or wavelengths of the visible spectrum. They are
defined as such because no single primary colour can be created from the other two, but all
other colours can be formed by combining blue, green, and red in various proportions.
Although we see sunlight as a uniform or homogeneous colour, it is actually composed of
various wavelengths of radiation in primarily the ultraviolet, visible and infrared portions of the
spectrum. The visible portion of this radiation can be shown in its component colours when
sunlight is passed through a prism, which bends the light in differing amounts according to
wavelength.

Infrared (IR) (0.7 µm to 100 µm)

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.

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microwave ( 1 mm - 1 m)
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.

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2) Interactions with Atmosphere
Before radiation used for remote sensing reaches the Earth's surface it has to travel through
some distance of the Earth's atmosphere. Particles and gases in the atmosphere can affect the
incoming light and radiation. These effects are caused by the mechanisms of scattering and
absorption.

• Scattering
Scattering occurs when particles or large gas molecules present in the atmosphere interact with
and cause the electromagnetic radiation to be redirected from its original path. How much
scattering takes place depends on several factors including the wavelength of the radiation, the
abundance of particles or gases, and the distance the radiation travels through the atmosphere.
There are three (3) types of scattering which take place:

Rayleigh scattering occurs when particles are very small compared to the wavelength of the
radiation. These could be particles such as small specks of dust or nitrogen and oxygen
molecules. Rayleigh scattering causes shorter wavelengths of energy to be scattered much
more than longer wavelengths. Rayleigh scattering is the dominant scattering mechanism in the
upper atmosphere. The fact that the sky appears "blue" during the day is because of this
phenomenon
Mie scattering occurs when the particles are just about the same size as the wavelength of the
radiation. Dust, pollen, smoke and water vapor are common causes of Mie scattering which
tends to affect longer wavelengths than those affected by Rayleigh scattering.
nonselective scattering :This occurs when the particles are much larger than the wavelength of
the radiation. Water droplets and large dust particles can cause this type of scattering.
Nonselective scattering gets its name from the fact that all wavelengths are scattered about
equally. This type of scattering causes fog and clouds to appear white to our eyes because blue,
green, and red light are all scattered in approximately equal quantities (blue+green+red light =
white light)

• Absorption

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Absorption is another main mechanism that happens when the EMR interacts with atmospheric
particles and gases. When the EMR passes through the atmosphere the molecules in the
atmosphere absorbs energy at various wavelengths. Ozone, CO2 and water vapor are the main
causes of energy absorption. The gases absorb the Electromagnetic radiation at specific
wavelengths called absorption bands. However the high interviewing transmittance regions are
often known as Atmospheric Windows.
Atmospheric Windows: The spectral bands for which the atmosphere is relatively transparent
are known as atmospheric windows (Fig. 6). There are certain regions of EMS, which does not
allow to pass the sun’s light to pass

3) Radiation - Target Interactions

Radiation that is not absorbed or scattered in the atmosphere can reach and interact with the
Earth's surface. There are three (3) forms of interaction that can take place when energy
strikes, or is incident (I) upon the surface. These are: absorption (A); transmission (T); and
reflection (R). The total incident energy will interact with the surface in one or more of these
three ways. The proportions of each will depend on the wavelength of the energy and the
material and condition of the feature..

Absorption (A) occurs when radiation (energy) is absorbed into the target while transmission (T)
occurs when radiation passes through a target. Reflection (R) occurs when radiation "bounces"
off the target and is redirected. In remote sensing, we are most interested in measuring the

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radiation reflected from targets. We refer to two types of reflection, which represent the two
extreme ends of the way in which energy is reflected from a target: specular reflection and
diffuse reflection.

Specular reflection or mirror-like reflection occurs when the surface is smooth, where all (or
almost all) of the energy is directed away from the surface in a single direction.
Diffuse reflection occurs when the surface is rough and the energy is reflected almost
uniformly in all directions.
Most earth surface features lie somewhere between perfectly specular or perfectly diffuse
reflectors. Whether a particular target reflects specularly or diffusely, or somewhere in
between, depends on the surface roughness of the feature in comparison to the wavelength of
the incoming radiation. If the wavelengths are much smaller than the surface variations or the
particle sizes that make up the surface, diffuse reflection will dominate. For example,
finegrained sand would appear fairly smooth to long wavelength microwaves but would appear
quite rough to the visible wavelengths.
Let's take a look at a couple of examples of targets at the Earth's surface and how energy at the
visible and infrared wavelengths interacts with them.
interaction of Vegetation With EMR :
A chemical compound in leaves called chlorophyll strongly absorbs radiation in the red and blue
wavelengths but reflects green wavelengths. Leaves appear "greenest" to us in the summer,
when chlorophyll content is at its maximum. In autumn, there is less chlorophyll in the leaves,
so there is less absorption and proportionately more reflection of the red wavelengths, making
the leaves appear red or yellow (yellow is a combination of red and green wavelengths). The
internal structure of healthy leaves act as excellent diffuse reflectors of near-infrared
wavelengths. If our eyes were sensitive to near-infrared, trees would appear extremely bright
to us at these wavelengths. In fact, measuring and monitoring the near-IR reflectance is one
way that scientists can determine how healthy (or unhealthy) vegetation may be.

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interaction of water With EMR:
Longer wavelength visible and near infrared radiation is absorbed more by water than shorter
visible wavelengths. Thus water typically looks blue or blue-green due to stronger reflectance at
these shorter wavelengths, and darker if viewed at red or near infrared wavelengths. If there is
suspended sediment present in the upper layers of the water body, then this will allow better
reflectivity and a brighter appearance of the water. The apparent colour of the water will show
a slight shift to longer wavelengths. Suspended sediment (S) can be easily confused with
shallow (but clear) water, since these two phenomena appear very similar. Chlorophyll in algae
absorbs more of the blue wavelengths and reflects the green, making the water appear more
green in colour when algae is present. The topography of the water surface (rough, smooth,
floating materials, etc.) can also lead to complications for water-related interpretation due to
potential problems of specular reflection and other influences on colour and brightness.

Spectral reflectance of major land cover Features

By measuring the energy that is reflected (or emitted) by targets on the Earth's surface over a
variety of different wavelengths, we can build up a spectral reflectance for that object. By
comparing the response patterns of different features we may be able to distinguish between
them, where we might not be able to, if we only compared them at one wavelength. For
example, water and vegetation may reflect somewhat similarly in the visible wavelengths but
are almost always separable in the infrared. Spectral response can be quite variable, even for
the same target type, and can also vary with time (e.g. "green-ness" of leaves) and location.
Knowing where to "look" spectrally and understanding the factors which influence the spectral

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response of the features of interest are critical to correctly interpreting the interaction of
electromagnetic radiation with the surface.
spectral reflectance curves or (Spectral signatures )are the combination of reflected, absorbed
and transmitted or emitted EMR by objects at varying wavelengths, which can uniquely identify
an object. When the amount of EMR (usually intensity of reflected radiation or reflectance in
percentage) coming from the material is plotted over a range of wavelengths, the connected
points produce a curve which is known as spectral signature of the material or in other words
spectral reflectance curve

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