Talk given to the Science Zone in Casper, Wyoming discussing the ways in which remote sensing enhances our senses and allow us to view and evaluate.

1. REMOTE
SENSING
THE 5 SENSES ENHANCED

2. WE WORK USING OUR FIVE SENSES TO TELL US
ABOUT THE EARTH
• Sight – observing a volcanic eruption
• Hearing – sounds of a rockslide
• Touch – pumice vs obsidian
• Taste – salt
• Smell – swamps
• HOW DO WE USE THESE IN A REMOTE
WAY – SENSING FROM FAR AWAY? This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

3. 1. TASTE AND SMELL – MOUTH AND NOSE
• Taste and smell are combined
because they use chemoreceptors
• Chemo – chemical; Receptors –
receivers
• These 2 senses are combined to
determine good versus bad
• Example – Spoiled Milk or Memory
Triggers
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

4. 1. TASTE AND SMELL – MASS SPECTROMETER
• In geology we use what's called a Mass
Spectrometer
• Acts like a nose when drilling
• Very sensitive to chemicals in the air –
AKA Very accurate Chemoreceptors
• These sensors allow us to detect
helium, CO2, Nitrogen, and other
elements

6. 1. TASTE AND SMELL – MASS SPECTROMETER
• It can smell small changes in water,
soil, etc.
• How long it takes for a body to use
medicine
• Trace evidence for detectives
• Many applications to smell things our
noses can’t
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC
BY-SA

7. 1. SIGHT – OUR EYES
• Once the light is in our eye it passes
through fluids
• The light lands on the retina at the
back of the eye
• The retina turns the light rays into
signals that our brain can understand
• The retina uses light sensitive cells
called rods and cones to see
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

8. 1. SIGHT - CAMERAS
• The lens is a glass plate that covers the
opening to the camera body
• The lens directs from an object to the
film when the shutter opens
• When you push the button on a
camera, it opens a shutter, which is a lid
that protects the film
• The shutter is like your eyelids, and
when you open them, then the light
comes in
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

9. 1. SIGHT – CAMERAS ON DRONES, ROVERS,
SATELLITES
• Cameras mounted on a remote
controlled drone
• Cameras also sent to space
• On satellites and rovers and probes
sent to other planets
• We can see beyond what our eyes
can see through remotely sensing
sight
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

10. 1. SIGHT – INCLUDES INFRARED, NIGHT VISION,
ZOOMS
• Plants
• Fire
• Lost people
• Diseases / bugs

11. 1. HEARING – OUR EARS
• The inner ear is shaped like a snail and
is called the cochlea
• Inside the cochlea, there are thousands
of tiny hair cells
• Hair cells change the vibrations into
electrical signals that are sent to the
brain through the hearing nerve
• The brain tells you that you are hearing
a sound and what kind of sound it is
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

12. 1. HEARING – SEISMIC
• Electric vibrators or falling weights
drop on the ground making a sound
• The sound waves are reflected off of
different layers underground
• Measuring the time for the waves to
get to a receiver (ear)
• Tells us what is underground

13. 1. HEARING - SEISMIC
• We use the listening trucks or
geophones to measure along a line
• Going back and forth on many lines
makes a picture that we can see
• This picture shows us what is
underground

14. 1. HEARING - SEISMIC

15. 1. TOUCH – OUR FINGERS AND HANDS
• Tell if something is hot or cold
• Dull or sharp
• Rough or smooth
• Receptors on your skin or nerves
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

16. 1. TOUCH – WIRELINE LOGS
• Temperature – hot or cold
• Type of fluid in rock (water or oil)
• Type of rock (lithology) and rock
quality (porosity/permeability)
• Cracks or broken
• Touches the rock using different
sensors at depth

17. Permeability?
What Fluid?
Type of Rock?
Porosity?

18. THE END – ANY QUESTIONS?