This document provides an introduction to satellite remote sensing. It discusses key topics such as the definition of remote sensing, the stages of remote sensing including energy sources, sensors, and data interpretation. It also covers different types of remote sensing based on platform, orbital characteristics, energy sources, components, and spectral characteristics. Different sensors, image resolution, electromagnetic radiation properties, and interactions with the atmosphere and earth surface are described. The history and development of remote sensing techniques are briefly mentioned. In summary, the document provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamental concepts and components of remote sensing from multiple perspectives.

1. Chapter One
Introduction to Satellite Remote Sensing
GEE 331 Principles of Remote Sensing and Images Interpretation (Lab)
Presented by
Md. Nazir Hossain
Lecturer
Geography and Environment
Shahjalal University of Science & Technology
Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh
nazirswapon@gmail.com

2. What is Remote Sensing?
Remote?
Sensor?
 A detecting instrument; a device
capable of detecting and
responding to physical stimuli such
as movement, light, or heat
Human vision is the most popular example of a remote sensing system.

3. Natural scene
Distance
Human Brain
Soft copy or Hard copy

4. Remote Sensing
In the broadest sense, remote sensing is the small or large-scale
acquisition of information of an object, area or phenomenon,
that is not in physical or intimate contact with the object, by the
use of either recording or real-time sensing device(s) (such as by
way of aircraft, spacecraft, satellite, buoy, or ship).
Distance
Human Brain
Soft copy or Hard copyNatural scene

6. Stages of Remote Sensing (Cont.)
Receiving and
processing
Sensing products
Users

7. Stages of Remote Sensing
Sources of energy
Propagation of through the atmosphere
Energy interaction with the surface’s features
Retransmission of energy through the atmosphere
Sensors: air borne/space borne
Sensing product in digital/pictorial form
Data interpretation and analysis
Information products
Users

8. Users

11. Satellite Remote Sensing

13. Image mosaic

14. Remote Sensing (Cont.)
Definition of Remote Sensing
Remote sensing is the science and art of obtaining information
about an object, area, or phenomenon through the analysis of
data acquired by a device that is not in contact with the object,
area or phenomenon under investigation (Lillesand & Kiefer,
2000).
Remote sensing is the science of obtaining and interpreting
information from a distance using sensors that are not in
physical contact with the object being observed (Randall B.
Smith, 2001).

15. Application of Remote Sensing
 Mapping/Cartography
 Land cover & land use
 Agriculture: cropping pattern, diversity
 Forestry: forest type
 Environmental impact assessment: before & after
 Geology: rocks identification, color, luster
 Hydrology: drainage pattern
 Oceanography

18. Application of Remote Sensing (Cont…)
 Coastal monitoring
 Meteorology, cloud-rain, cyclone
 Natural hazard forecast and
assessment
 Resource monitoring
 Settlement and urban planning

21. Satellite Imagery
Satellite imagery consists of images of earth or other planets
collected from artificial satellites.

22. Aerial photograph & Aerial photography
Aerial photograph refers to the photograph taken from aircraft.
Aerial photography is defined as science and art of taking
photographs from the air using aerial camera.
Aerial photography is the taking of photographs of ground
from an elevated position.

23. Types of Aerial photograph
Based on angular position of camera and ground
1. Vertical photograph
2. Oblique photograph

24. Types of Aerial photograph (cont.)

25. Characteristics of Aerial Photographs
Synoptic view
Time freezing ability
Capability to stop action
Availability
Comparatively cheap
Three dimensional perspectives
Stereoscope
Paris, WW2

26. Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is traditionally defined as the art or science of
obtaining reliable measurements by means of photography (CP
Lo & AKW Yeung, 2002).
Photogrammetry is the science of obtaining reliable
measurements of objects from their photographic image (T
Eugene Avery, 1965).
It deals on shape, size, geometry, scale, camera angle of aerial
photos etc.

27. Platforms of Remote Sensing
 The vesicles or career for remote sensors are called the platform.
Such as aircraft, satellite etc.
1. Ground base platforms
2. Air platforms
3. Space borne platforms
Ground-based Airplane-based
Space-based

28. Satellite System
Sputnik 1
Explorer 1
Major types are
i. Natural satellite: The Moon
ii. Artificial satellite: about 65 countries have own satellite
including launching capacity of 10.
 First satellite: Sputnik 1, launched by USSR in October 4, 1957.
 First American satellite: Explorer 1 (USA), 31st January 1958.
 Last launching countries, Turkmenistan, Laos (2015)
 Bangladesh: Bangabandhu 1, 1st Space Satellite, BTRC & SPARRSO,
will be launched 31 Dec 2017, through 119° E long. geostationary slot.

29. Satellite System (Cont.)
6600 have been launched
3600 are in orbit
1000 are operational
Propelling mechanism:
Propelled by rocket first
then use own power and
finally moving through orbit

30. Satellite System (Cont...)
Types of satellite
1. Geostationary Satellite: GMS (Japan), GOES, INTEL, TIROS
2. Polar-Orbiting Satellite: SPOT, Landsat,
Geostationary Satellite Polar-Orbiting Satellite

31. Satellite System (Cont...)
Types of satellite based on their uses
1. Communication satellite
2. Astronomical satellite
3. Navigation satellite
4. Weather satellite
5. Military satellite
6. Scientific satellite
7. Earth Observation/Resource appraisal satellite
Navigation satellite
Landsat 1
Landsat 8

32. Types of Remote Sensing
Based on platform of Remote Sensing
1. Ground based Remote Sensing
2. Air based Remote Sensing
3. Space based Remote Sensing

33. Types of Remote Sensing (Cont…)
Based on orbital characteristics
1. Geo-stationary Remote Sensing: GMS (Japan), GOES, INTEL, TIROS
2. Sun-synchronous Remote Sensing: LANDSAT, SPOT, IRS

34. Types of Remote Sensing (Cont…)
Based on source of energy
1. Passive Remote Sensing
2. Active Remote Sensing

37. Types of Remote Sensing
Based on component of Remote Sensing
1. Optical Remote Sensing: element- use visible, near infrared
2. Thermal Remote Sensing: element- temperature
3. Microwave Remote Sensing: element- microwave

38. Types of Remote Sensing (Cont.)
Optical Remote Sensing: element- use visible & near infrared; only day time

39. Types of Remote Sensing (Cont.)
Thermal Remote Sensing: element- temperature, day-night all time, temperature
emission by objects up to 0oK/-273oC, mostly use in desert area

40. Types of Remote Sensing (Cont.)
Microwave Remote Sensing: element- microwave; day & night; all places,
all weather; high cost of sensing, need power to operate, ship use

41. Types of Remote Sensing (Cont.)
Based on spectral characteristics
1. Panchromatic remote sensing: Black & White
2. Multispectral remote sensing
3. Hyper-spectral remote sensing

42. Types of Remote Sensing (Cont.)
Multispectral remote sensing:
Landsat MSS (4), Landsat TM (7), Landsat ETM+ (8), AVHRR (3)

43. Bands of Some Sensors
Landsat MSS (1972-)
o Band 1: 0.5 - 0.6 μm (visible green) 79 m
o Band 2: 0.6 - 0.7 μm (visible red) 79m
o Band 3: 0.7 - 0.8 μm (near IR) 79 m
o Band 3: 0.8 - 1.1 μm (near IR) 79 m
Landsat TM & ETM+ (1982- )
o Band 1: 0.522 -0.90 μm (panchromatic)* 15 m
o Band 2: 0.45 - 0.52 μm (visible blue) 30 m
o Band 3: 0.52 - 0.60 μm (visible green) 30 m
o Band 4: 0.63 - 0.69 μm (visible red) 30 m
o Band 5: 0.76 - 0.90 μm (near IR) 30 m
o Band 6: 1.55 - 1.75 μm (mid IR) 30 m
o Band 7: 10.40 - 12.50 μm (thermal IR) 120 m
o Band 8: 2.08 - 2.35 μm (mid IR) 30 m

44. Types of Remote Sensing (Cont.)
Hyper-spectral remote sensing:
In this process the sensor divide spectral band into more narrow spectrum. Such
as CASI contains 288 bands, AVIRIS (224), MODIS (35).

45. Sensor System
Sensor refers to the sensing mechanism that receives
the electromagnetic energy and record it.
The device that receives electromagnetic radiation
and converts it into a signal that can be recorded and
displayed as either numeric data or image.

46. Classification of sensor (Cont…)
SONAR
Camera
Based on sources of energy
i. Active sensors: RADAR, SONAR, LIDAR, LASER
ii. Passive sensors: various camera, scanners

48. Classification of sensor (Cont…)
Based on number of band of the sensors
i. Broad and narrow band sensor
ii. Multi-spectral sensor
iii. Hyper-spectral Sensor

49. Classification of sensor (Cont…)
Based on platform/career of the sensors
i. Ground based sensor
ii. Air borne sensor
iii. Space borne sensor

50. Satellite remote sensing versus Aerial photography
Mechanism –highly technical vs. normal
Sensors- space base vs. ground base
Platforms
Cost
Uses & Application
Efficiency
Man powers

51. Pixel
A pixel (short for “picture element”)
is one of thousands of tiny spots in a
grid on a display screen or printed
sheet.
Just as a bit is the smallest unit of
information a computer can process, a
pixel is the smallest element that
display or print hardware and
software can manipulate in creating
letters, numbers, or graphics.

52. Image Resolution
Image resolution refers to the number of pixels in an unit area
of a digital photo or image.
The term resolution used in both traditional and digital
photography to describe the quality of the image.

53. Image Resolution (Cont...)
Types of Resolution
1. Spatial Resolution
2. Temporal Resolution
3. Spectral Resolution
4. Radiometric Resolution

54. Spatial Resolution (cont.)
The spatial resolution specifies the pixel size of satellite images
covering the earth surface.
High spatial resolution: 0.41 - 4 m
Low spatial resolution: 30 - > 1000 m
1 pixel in image
= 30mx30m in land
1 pixel in image
= 1mx1m in land

55. Spatial Resolution (cont.)
Below is an illustration of how the same image might appear at different pixel
resolutions (practical aspect)

56. Spatial Resolution (cont.)
540 x 694 140 x 180 54 x 69

57. 40 x 40
Spatial Resolution (cont.)
320 x 320
80 x 80

61. Temporal Resolution
The temporal resolution specifies the revisiting
frequency of a satellite sensor for a specific location.
High temporal resolution: < 24 hours - 3 days
Medium temporal resolution: 4 - 16 days
Low temporal resolution: > 16 days

62. Temporal Resolution
Time
July 1 July 12 July 23 August 3
11 days
16 days
July 2 July 18 August 3

63. Spectral Resolution
The ability of a sensor to detect small differences in wavelength
It specifies the number of spectral bands in which the sensor can
collect reflected radiance.
High spectral resolution: 220 bands
Medium spectral resolution: 3 - 15 bands
Low spectral resolution: 3 bands

64. • Example: Black and
white image
- Single sensing device
- Intensity is sum of
intensity of all
visible wavelengths
Can you tell the color of the
platform top?
How about her sash?
Spectral Resolution (Cont.)
0.4 mm 0.7 mm
Black &
White
Images
Blue + Green + Red

65. Spectral Resolution (Cont.)
• Example: Color image
- Color images need
least three sensing
devices, e.g., red, green,
and blue; RGB
Using increased spectral
resolution (three sensing
wavelengths) adds
information
In this case by “sensing”
RGB can combine to
get full color rendition
0.4 mm 0.7 mm
Color
Images
Blue Green Red

66. Radiometric Resolution
It measures of a sensor's ability to discriminate small differences in
the magnitude of radiation within the ground area that corresponds
to a single raster cell.
The greater the bit depth (number of data bits per pixel) of the
images that a sensor records, the higher its radiometric resolution.
The AVHRR sensor, for example, stores 210 (1024) bits per pixel, as
opposed to the 28 bits per pixel that the Landsat sensors record.
Computer
store
everything in
0 or 1

67. Radiometric Resolution (Cont.)
2

68. Comparison of Satellites based on Resolution

69. Resolution Trade-off
The trade-off may result in two different solutions:
To lay emphasis upon the most important resolution, in direct
dependency to the application, or
To lay no emphasis on one specific resolution and at the same
time the acceptance of a medium spectral, temporal and spatial
resolution.

70. Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR)
Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) refers to the energy that
moves with the velocity of light in a harmonic wave pattern and
consist of both electric and magnetic field (Noam Levin, 1999).
EMR is the form of energy emitted and absorbed by charged
particles, which exhibits wave like behaviour and has both
electric and magnetic component (Lillesand & Kiefer, 2000).
Orthogonal

71. Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR)

72. Properties of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR)
Fields of EMR
1. Electric filed
2. Magnetic field
Wave theory of EMR
1. Velocity (V or C): 3×108 m/s
2. Frequency (f)
3. Wave length (λ)

73. Properties of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) (cont..)
Electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible
frequencies of electromagnetic radiation.

74. Properties of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) (cont..)
Spectral bands
The wavelengths are approximate; exact values depend on the particular satellite's instruments:
Bands
Wavelength
in µm
Use in Remote sensing
Blue 0.44 – 0.5
Atmospheric and deep water imaging, and can reach up to
150 feet (50 m) deep in clear water
Green 0.5 – 0.57
Imaging of vegetation and deep water structures, up to 90
feet (30 m) in clear water (peak vegetation reflects these
wavelengths strongly)
Red 0.62 – 0.7
Imaging of man-made objects, in water up to 30 feet (9 m)
deep, and vegetation type
Near-infrared 0.7 – 1.3
Primarily for imaging of vegetation (healthy plant tissue
reflects these wavelengths strongly)
Mid-infrared 1.3 – 3.0
Imaging vegetation, soil moisture content, and some forest
fires
Thermal
infrared
3.0 – 14.0
Uses emitted radiation instead of reflected, for imaging of geological
structures, thermal differences in water currents, fires, and for night studies
Microwave 1mm-1m Mapping terrain and for detecting various objects

75. Properties of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) (cont..)
Energy interaction in the atmosphere
1. Scattering
i. Rayleigh scattering
ii. Mie scattering
iii. Non-selective scattering
2. Absorption
3. Transmission and refraction
Interaction with the earth surface
1. Reflection: specular & defused
2. Energy interaction with earth surface feature
3. Spectral reflection of vegetation, soil and water

76. Interactions with the 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.
Rayleigh scattering occurs when particles are
very small compared to the wavelength of the
radiation. That’s why the sky is blue.
Mie scattering occurs when the particles are
just about the same size as the wavelength of
the radiation.
Nonselective scattering occurs when the particles
are much larger than the wavelength of the radiation.

77. Interactions with the Atmosphere

78. Interactions with the Atmosphere
Twilight
Light travels a long distance during twilight, that’s
why B & G absorbed, R reaches to our eye.

79. Transmission and Refraction

81. Reflection
Interaction with the earth surface

82. Energy interaction with earth surface feature

83. Spectral reflection of vegetation, soil and water

84. Spectral reflection of vegetation

85. Development of Remote Sensing Techniques
Brief History of Remote Sensing

86. 1038 AD - Al Hazen an
Arabian mathematician
explained the principle of the
camera obscura to observe sun
eclipse.
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

87. Camera Obscura
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

88. 1666 - Sir Isaac Newton, while
experimenting with a prism, found that he
could disperse light into a spectrum of red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and
violet. Utilizing a second prism, he found
that he could re-combine the colors into
white light.
1800- Discovery of Infrared by Sir W.
Herschel
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)
Infrared Image

89. 1827 - Niepce takes first picture of nature from a window
view of the French countryside using a camera obscura (it took
8 hours in bright sunlight to produce the image)
First photograph in the world by Niepce
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

90. 1839 - Daguerre announces the
invention of Daguerrotype which
consisted of a polished silver plate,
mercury vapours and sodium thiosulfate
("hypo") that was used to fix the image
and make it permanent.
1839 - William Henry Fox Talbot
invents negative-positive processing
system.
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)
Daguerre

91. Additive Color Theory
1855 – James Clerk
Maxwell, describes
color additive theory.
The color additive theory
describes how be perceive
color and how they are
created.
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

92. Colour Model
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

93. Balloons
1858 - Gasper Felix
Tournachon “Nadar"
takes the first aerial
photograph from a
captive balloon from an
altitude of 1,200 feet
over Paris.
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

94. Balloons
1860's - Aerial
observations, and
possible photography, for
military purposes were
acquired from balloons
in the US Civil War.
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

95. 1873 -Theory of Electromagnetic
Spectrum by J.C. Maxwell
1887 - Germans began experiments
with aerial photographs and
photogrammetric techniques for
measuring features and areas in
forests.
1889 - Arthur Batut take the first
aerial photograph from using a kite
of Labruguiere France.
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

96. Kites
Aerial Photography from a Kite, 1880
Labrugauere, France from a kite (1889)
Kite photos, San Francisco
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

97. Pigeon
1903 - The Bavarian Pigeon
Corps uses pigeons to transmit
messages and take aerial photos.
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

98. Airplane
1903 – introduction to airplane by Wright brothers

99. Rocket
1906 - Albert Maul, using a rocket
propelled by compressed air, took
an aerial photograph from a height
of 2,600 feet.
1906 - G.R. Lawrence who had
been experimenting with cameras
which were hoisted into the air
with the aid of balloon kites.
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

100. 1914 – WW I:
provided a boost in the use of aerial photography, but after the war,
enthusiasm waned
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

101. Development of
Remote Sensing
Development of Camera &
Photography
Development of flying
System/instruments
Development of
mechanical part of camera
Development of optical
part of camera
Development of camera film
Increasing flying altitude
Development of
aircraft/Satellites

102. • 1940 - World War II brought about more sophisticated
techniques in air photo interpretation.
• 1946 - First space photographs from V-2 rockets (German).
• 1954 - U-2 takes first flight (USA).
• 1960 - U-2 is "shot down" over Sverdlovsk, USSR during espying.
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)
U-2
V-2

103. Satellites
 1957 - Russia launches Sputnik-1,
this was unexpected and
encouraged US government to
make space exploration a priority.
 First US satellite Explorer-1, 1958
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

104. 1960 - TIROS-1 launched as first meteorological satellite.
1960's - US begins collection of intelligence photography
from Earth orbiting satellites, CORONA.
1964- Nimbus Weather Satellite Program begins with the
Launch of Nimbus1.
TIROS-1
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)
Nimbus 7

105. Space Project
Late 1960's - Gemini and Apollo Space photography.
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

106. 1972 - Launch of ERTS-1 (the first Earth Resources
Technology Satellite, later renamed Landsat 1).
1972 - Photography from Skylab, America's first
space station, was used to produce land use maps.
1975 - Landsat 2, GOES
1977 - Meteosat-1 the first in a long series of
European weather satellites
1978 - Landsat 3
1978 - Seasat, the first civil Synthetic Aperture Radar
(SAR) satellite.
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)

107. 1986 - Launch of SPOT-1
1988 - IRS-1A, Meteosat 3, Ofeq-1
1999 - Launch of Landsat 7, IKONOS, IRS-P4,
QuickSCAT, CBERS-1,Terra, MODIS, ASTER, CERES,
MISR, MOPITT, Kompsat 1.
2000 - SRTM (China), Tsinghau-1, EROS A1 (Israel) ,
Jason-1
2001- Quickbird
2013- Landsat 8
Development of Remote Sensing Techniques (Cont…)
SPOT-1
Quickbird

108. Bands of Some Sensors (Cont.)
AVHRR (1979- )
o Band 1: 0.58 - 0.68 μm (visible red) 1-4 km
o Band 2: 0.725 - 1.10 μm (near IR) 1-4 km
o Band 3: 3.55 - 3.93 μm (thermal IR) 1-4 km
o Band 4: 10.3 - 11.3 μm (thermal IR) 1-4 km
o Band 5: 11.5 - 12.5 μm (thermal IR) 1-4 km
IKONOS I (1999- )
o Band 1: 0.45 - 0.90 μm (panchromatic) 1m
o Band 2: 0.45 - 0.52 μm (visible blue) 4m
o Band 3: 0.51 - 0.60 μm (visible green) 4m
o Band 4: 0.63 - 0.70 μm (visible red) 4m
o Band 5: 0.76 - 0.85 μm (near IR) 4m

109. Remote Sensing in Bangladesh
SPARRSO (1970)- collect data from LANDSAT, SPOT, IRS,
NOAA-14, 15, GMS-5; Under MoD
Data of SPARRSO used by the Universities, Research org. (e.g,
CEGIS), and GOs, SRDI, BWDB-FFWC, BMD-SWC for land
and water sectors, and weather forecasting.
Subsections: geology, meteorology, agriculture, forestry,
statistics, fisheries, oceanography, cartography, water resources.
Bangabandhu 1, 1st Space Satellite, BTRC & SPARRSO, will
be launched at 31 Dec 2017, through 119° East longitude
geostationary slot, Cost: 3,300 crores, duration:15 years
From Xichang Satellite Launch Center (China)

110. Chapter Two
(alongside with software practices)
Digital image processing
Feature recognition technique
Data classification

111. FCC

112. Chapter Three
Interpretation of remote sensing data from
hard copies

113. Application exercises

114. Thanks To All
114