Tutorial 1: Remote Sensing

Remote Sensing: Platforms, physics, data,

data availability and acquisition

IAI Summer Institute

mbinford@geog.ufl.edu
Landscape Change
 Definition of Remote Sensing
¥ The acquisition and measurement of data/information on
some property(ies) of a phenomenon, object, or material by
a recording device not in physical, intimate contact with
the feature(s) under surveillance; techniques involve
amassing knowledge pertinent to environments by
measuring force fields, electromagnetic radiation, or
acoustic energy employing cameras, radiometers and
scanners, lasers, radio frequency receivers, radar systems,
sonar, thermal devices, seismographs, magnetometers,
gravimeters, scintillometers, and other instruments.
¨ Source: NASA tutorial on remote sensing:
http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Intro/nicktutor_I-1.html
 Definition of Remote Sensing

¥ Whew!

¥ Better: Sensing for measurement from a distance.

—Hearing, seeing, smelling are all remote
sensing, but here we focus on one kind:
—Measurement, by satellite-borne sensors, of the
electromagnetic energy reflected or emitted
from objects on the Earth s surface.
Source of image: http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Intro/nicktutor_I-1.html
Nature of Remote Sensing Data

69

88
 Multiple Bands of Satellite Data
Landsat 4 & 5 data consist of seven layers of data
Combining Bands in Clever Ways

5-4-3 Color Composite: Band 5=Red, 4=Green, 3=Blue

What Else Can Be Done with RS Data?

NDVI = (IR - Red)

(IR + Red)

-1 to +1
 What do those numbers mean?
Electromagnetic Spectrum of Radiant Energy

Long Wavelength Short Wavelength

Low Frequency High Frequency
Low Energy High Energy
Solar and Terrestrial Energy
Distribution by Wavelength
 Some Light Is Reflected

Albedo: reflective quality of a surface, expressed as

percent of incident light reflected.
 Some Light is Scattered

Rayleigh Scattering
Need figure of light
Miescattering
Scattering

Source: http://covis1.atmos.uiuc.edu/guide/optics/html/scattering.html
Some Light is Absorbed

Need image of absorption

Atmospheric Alteration of Radiant Energy
and Pathways from the Sun to the Sensor
Absorbance/Reflectance Spectrum
 Spectra of Different Materials

USGS Spectral Library http://speclab.cr.usgs.gov/spectral-lib.html

Platforms and Instruments

SPOT 4

AVHRR

Landsat 7 Artist s Impression

Remote Sensing Platforms Have
Been Designed to Sense
Electromagnetic Energy in
Various Bands in Order to Take
Advantage of The
Absorption/Transmission
Properties of the Atmosphere
Example: MSS
 AVHRR

Advanced Very-High Resolution Radiometer

 AVHRR
Advance Very High Resolution Radiometer.
NOAA Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES)
Spatial Resolution = 1.1km
Temporal Resolution = Daily
Spectral Range and Resolution
Band NOAA-6,8,10 NOAA-7,9,11,14
Nbr. IFOV
1 0.58 - 0.68 0.58 - 0.68 1.39
2 0.725 - 1.10 0.725 - 1.10 1.41
3 3.55 - 3.93 3.55 - 3.93 1.51
4 10.50 - 11.50 10.3 - 11.3 1.41
5 band 4 repeated 11.5 - 12.5 1.30
(micrometers) (micrometers) (milliradians)
Landsat Series
Landsat Series

Landsat
7 ETM+
 Landsat Program - System Summary

This table, and most of the Landsat 7 images were taken from the Landsat 7 Science Data
User s Book: http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/IAS/handbook/handbook_toc.html
Ground Receiving Stations
Landsat 4, 5
 Landsat 4 and 5 and TM Characteristics:
Band Number Spectral Range(microns) Ground Resolution(m)
1 .45 to .52 30
2 .52 to .60 30
3 .63 to .69 30
4 .76 to .90 30
5 1.55 to 1.75 30
6 10.40 to 12.5 60?
7 2.08 to 2.35 30

Swath width: 185 kilometers

Repeat coverage interval: 16 days (233 orbits)
Altitude: 705 kilometers
Quantization: 8 Bit, 256 levels
On-board data storage: ? Recording Tape
Inclination: Sun-synchronous, 98.2 degrees
Equatorial crossing: Descending node; 10:00am +/- 15 min.
Launch vehicle: Various
Launch date: 1 March 1984 (5), 16 July 1982 (4)
 Landsat 4 and 5 and TM Band Applications:
Color Band (µm) Application

Blue 0.45 - 0.52 Soil/vegetation discrimination,

deciduous/coniferous forest
differentiation, clear-water bathymetry
Green 0.52- - 0.60 Growth/vigor indication for vegetation,
sediment estimation, turbid-water
bathymetry
Red 0.63 - 0.69 Crop classification, ferric iron
detection, ice and snow mapping
Near Infrared (NIR) 0.76 - 0.90 Biomass surveys, water-body delineation

Short-wave IR 1.55 - 1.75 Vegetation moisture, snow-cloud

differentiation
Short-wave IR 2.08 - 2.35 Hydrothermal mapping, rock/soil type
discrimination for mineral and petroleum
geology
Thermal IR 10.4 - 12.5 Thermal mapping, plant stress, urban/non-
urban land-use differentiation

Source: Mika, A.M. Three decades of Landsat instruments. PE & RS. 43:839 -
852.
Landsat 7
 Landsat 7 and ETM+ Characteristics:
Band Number Spectral Range(microns) Ground Resolution(m)
1 .45 to .515 30
2 .525 to .605 30
3 .63 to .690 30
4 .75 to .90 30
5 1.55 to 1.75 30
6 10.40 to 12.5 60
7 2.09 to 2.35 30
Pan .52 to .90 15

Swath width: 185 kilometers

Repeat coverage interval: 16 days (233 orbits)
Altitude: 705 kilometers
Quantization: Best 8 of 9 bits
On-board data storage: ~375 Gb (solid state)
Inclination: Sun-synchronous, 98.2 degrees
Equatorial crossing: Descending node; 10:00am +/- 15 min.
Launch vehicle: Delta II
Launch date: February 1999
SPOT
SPOT, TM, MSS Comparative Chart
AVHRR Bands
Orbital Patterns
Orbital Patterns
SPOT Orbital Patterns

And Ground Receiving Stations

 GOES

http://www.nnic.noaa.gov/SOCC/gifs/GOESsys.gif
 Newer Satellite Platforms
¥ Shuttle: SIR-C/SAR
¥ MODIS
¥ ASTER
¥ RADARSAT
¥ See NASA NRA Appendix F for Longer
List (link in GEO 5145c syllabus)
 Active Sensors

¥ Microwave Radar
—Airborne
—Satellite Borne
¥ ERS-1
¥ JERS-2
Remote Sensing Data
Data Availability and Acquisition
¥ Emphasis on Landsat TM, MSS; SPOT; AVHRR
¥ Landsat - EOSAT (Space Imaging), USGS (EROS Data
Center)
¥ SPOT - SPOT Image Corp.
¥ AVHRR - Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
(Spectral, not Spatial Resolution); Satellite by National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Much
data available form USGS EROS, other sources
¥ Others (See Space Imaging Site:
http://www.spaceimage.com/
—JERS
—Indian (IRS)
—etc.
 Finding Your Scene(s)
¥ Worldwide Reference Systems
— See http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/mbinford/geo5145/fltm_scene.gif for the
example for Florida - Pointer on class web site.
— Path-Row Notation
¥ The combination of a Path number and a Row number uniquely
identifies a nominal scene center. The Path number is always given
first, followed by the Row number. The notation 127-043, for
example, relates to Path number 127 and Row number 043.

¥ WWW Resources (see

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/mbinford/geo5145/RemoteSensingDataSites.html
pointer on class web site)
— SPOT Image
— Space Imaging EOSAT
— EROS Data Center
EROS DATA CENTER

http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/
SpaceImaging (EOSAT)

http://www.spaceimage.com/
SPOT Image

http://www.Spotimage.fr/
Another Source of Data for Some
Areas
¥ Michigan State University Tropical Forest
Inventory Project ($25 per TM scene, $50
per ETM+ scene, for selected scenes from
Amazonia, Africa, and southeast Asia
tropical forests).
¥ URL:
http://www.bsrsi.msu.edu/trfic/index.html
Exercise: FIND YOUR SCENES
¥ Figure out where your study area is:
—Latitude/Longitude
—Path/Row in Landsat or SPOT WRS
¥ Go to data provider site, search archives
¥ Have a look at images until you get several (3-4)
that meet your criteria (aha! Criteria? What is the
Question?)
¥ List the Scene ID, t he date of acquisition, and
the Row/Path identifier.