Introduction

What Is Remote Sensing?

Remote Sensing is the process of collecting data about objects or landscape features without coming into direct physical contact with them. It can be anything from: visual assessment of ones surrounding area, using a hand held camera, aerial photography, satellite imagery.

Humans are naturally capable of interpreting features we do it every day. Our interpretation is based on colors, tones, texture, etc.

Visual interpretation of imagery involves the human interpretations of size, shape, color, and pattern.

This visual experience requires the translation of our normal world view to a remote sensing perspective.

As humans, the colors we see are made up of combinations of reflected wavelengths throughout the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. For example, a green object will reflect high in the green portion of the spectrum and low in the blue and red.

In today's context, we reserve the term remote sensing to imagery collected by electrooptical sensors. In other words, instruments which measure electromagnetic radiation (EMR) that is reflected or emitted from the terrain (radiant energy). Scanners that record the amount of reflected light energy of the sun from the earths surfaces. This energy is recorded within certain segments of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Every entity on the face of the earth has unique and varying energy levels and remote sensing systems, simply measure these different levels. These energy levels are portrayed by way of the electromagnetic spectrum. The EM spectrum measures energy from gamma rays to radio waves.

Remote sensing instruments allow us to collect reflected and emitted energy over a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum where light visible to humans represents a small fraction.

Each feature on the earths surface has a unique spectral signature, hence a unique spectral reflectance curve. These curves are defined by the varying percent of reflectance in different portions of the EM spectrum. In remote sensing, having an understanding of the reflectance nature of an object enhances the identification of this object on an image. Graphs of spectral reflectance curves help us better understand the reflectance nature of an object.

There are portions of the spectrum that are composed of water, CO2 and other particles that absorb most of the energy. These areas are the opaque areas in this graph. The areas that are white represent the atmospheric transmission windows or areas where electromagnetic radiation actually makes it through the atmosphere.

Different satellites collect data in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Depending on the project, you may want to use data from more than one satellite. Airplanes and small jets can also be equipped with sensors similar to those on satellites.

The Process of Remote Sensing is made up of: Acquiring the technology employed (satellites, aircraft) Processing converting raw data into images Interpreting interpreting or giving meaning to the processed data Presentation - presenting the data either via maps, graphs, power point, photographs, etc.

How do we acquire digital data? Scan photographs or purchase digital data from agencies such as NASA, USGS, BLM, Forest Service or a private company such as SpaceImaging. The data used to come on high density digital tapes (similar to the reel to reel tapes) that had to be read by a tape drive, usually 1 band per tape. Now most data is available on CDs. Small images can be transferred via ftp. You can create raster files from vector files through a vector to raster conversion, but you should be very careful as this will create inaccuracies in the data. You are actually creating an area from a point and distorting real world parameters such as geographic coordinates.

Data Collection Data Collection

In Situ - Field - Laboratory - Collateral Data Remote Sensing - Passive Analog - Camera - Videography - Passive Digital - Camera - Multispectral Scanners - Linear and Area Arrays - Spectroradiometers - Active - Microwave (radar) - Sonar - Laser

Project Objective Defining your project and selecting appropriate imagery. When defining your project, you first decide what you want the imagery for. If it is just for a backdrop, then you could go with aerial photography or panchromatic satellite imagery. If you want multispectral data, then you should be familiar with the different satellites, their spatial resolution and the number of bands each has.

Spectral

Image Resolution
Radiometric Spatial
255 170 85

Temporal

1972

1982

1993

1997

Spatial Resolution Example

30 Meter Resolution

1 Pixel is 30m X 30m 1 Meter Resolution

1 Pixel is 1m X 1m
Modified from John Althausen

Spatial Resolution of Some Common Sensors Spatial Resolution of Some Common Sensors
1m 2.5 m 6m 10 m

20 m 30 meters

80 meters

Spectral Resolution
Defined by the portions of the EM spectrum a sensor is designed to record (number of spectral bands) and the spectral range of each portion (band width)
Beyond Color Allows Feature Delineatio n

Multispec tral Imagery

Blue Green Red Near IR Mid IR

Modified from John Althausen

Different satellites collect data in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Depending on the project, you may want to use data from more than one satellite.

SLC TM Imagery and TM Imagery Merged with SPOT 10m Panchromatic

Spatial Resolution & File Size

Baseball Math
Distance Between Bases = 90 ft Total Infield Area = 8100 sq. ft Total LANDSAT Pixels = 1 Pixel

Total IKONOS Pixels = 900 Pixels

Township Size
.37MB
10,560 Rows
30m Resolution 1m Resolution

352 Rows

334 MB

352 Columns
Modified from John Althausen

10,560 Columns

Radiometric Resolution
The number of gray levels that can be differentiated by a sensor

255
Pixels Values Range from 0255

170

Black is 0 and White is 255 This is Radiometric Resolution

85

0
Modified from John Althausen

Temporal Resolution
Refers to: 1. 2. Repeat cycle of the sensor platform Length of time in service

AVHRR High Temporal Resolution (Every Day) TM, MSS, IRS Medium Temporal Resolution (~ 2 per month) IKONOS Medium to Low (1 per month but pointable) Airborne - Variable

Temporal Resolution - Examples

Great Salt Lake 1995 1999

Temporal Resolution - Examples

1986
FIRE

1987
FIRE

DRY 1988

Fire
1989
FIRE

DRY

DRY 1990
FIRE

DRY 1991

DRY

DRY

1992
FIRE

1993

DRY 1994
FIRE

DRY 1995
FIRE

DRY 1996
FIRE

DRY 1997

DRY

DRY

False Color Composite One thing that you may have noticed on the images is that the vegetation comes out in red. That is what we refer to as a False Color Composite, where we have combined bands 4 (near IR), 3(red) and 2(green). Healthy vegetation has a high reflectance in the near (photographic) IR region.

Carbon County

One of the main strengths of raster data is the ability to perform mathematical calculations on the data. There are many mathematical algorithms that can be applied to raster images to pull out the information one is looking for. These iterations can be supervised or unsupervised and are referred to as classifications.

Using GIS and Remote Sensing Data Interactively

One of the strengths of a GIS is its ability to perform overlay operations between map layers. In cases where map features represent discrete categories, overlay operations can determine the intersection or union of features from different map sources.

SLC with Neighborhood Council Boundaries

SLC TM Imagery and TM Imagery Merged with SPOT 10m Panchromatic

The strength of multispectral remote sensing is that we can detect and record information from a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Examples of possible uses for remotely sensed data in Civil Engineering: Erosion prediction streambank and shoreline erosion management Transportation modeling Dam and reservoir location and planning Geomorphology channel and watershed characterization Characterizing soil dynamics Geotechnical and environmental engineers Earthquake engineering Construction planning Agricultural engineering