ASSIGNMENT

Remote Sensing Technology 1

(SGS 1633)

Discuss the applications of the following satellite data,

(a) Landsat Thematic Mapper
(b)SPOT HRV

Landsat TM is the series of satellite that is well-known satellite for remote

sensing and earth monitoring. Due to its band, we can differentiate the
usage of each band.

BAND 1 –for soil/vegetation discrimation, bathymetry/coastal mapping,

cultural/urban feature
identification.
BAND 2 –for green vegetation mapping by measuring reflectance peak,
cultural/urban feature
identification.
BAND 3 –for differentiate between vegetated and non vegetated area, plant
species
discrimination (plant chlorophyll absorption), cultural/urban feature
identification
BAND 4 –identification of plant/vegetation types, health and biomass content,
water body delineation, soil moisture
BAND 5 –Sensitive to moisture in soil and vegetation, discriminating snow, and
cloud-covered
areas.
BAND 6 –Vegetation stress and soil moisture discrimination related to thermal
radiation,
thermal mapping.
BAND 7 –Discrimination of mineral and rock types, sensitive to vegetation moisture
content.

There are many application of Landsat TM satellite data such as for

environmental monitoring applications of low spatial resolution images
where this satellite data help in doing vegetation assessment. By combining
certain band, you can differentiate the type of plant easier by using
NDVI(Normalised Difference Vegetation Index).

It is also used in topographic mapping and land cover mapping. The

technique of false colour helping the researcher to easily study of land cover
easily. False colour combination of bands 3(visible red), 4(near infrared) and
5(mid infrared) can also study health of vegetation. Landsat TM also useful in
detecting the sea-surface temperature, algal blooms, estuarine sediment
plumes, oil spill and other pollutant contamination plumes compared to SPOT
which is limitated because it has neither a thermal infrared band nor a blue
visible band.

Landsat TM also provide wealth of information for geological mapping and

exploration. It is cost and time effective for larger project or difficult to
access area.

SPOT HRV (High Resolution Visible) sensor operates in two modes, namely
the Multispectral Mode and the Panchromatic Mode. Two identical HRV
instruments with 3 VNIR bands and a ground resolution of 20 m can point in
the cross-track direction up to 31 degrees from nadir. The swath width varies
from 60 km (nadir) to 80 km when angled at the maximum limit from nadir.
HRV panchromatic has spectral range between 500 nm and 730 nm (one
channel) and 10 m spatial resolution. This is important in detail in complex
and small region.

Although it has fewer bands but its superior spatial resolution allowing
individual faults and rock layer to be mapped. SPOT images as well as
Landsat is also used to find areas of poor crop development in conjunction
with accurate location information from GPS(Global Positioning Systems). So,
farmer can focus supplying fertilizing activities on these areas only and not
waste fertilizer on ares with good soil.

SPOT has been found to be better than Landsat TM iat defining individuals
field boundaries and small parcels of land of only a few hectares in size. We
can also differentiate between vegetation using SPOT satellite. SPOT also
important in agriculture especially for afforestation or reforestation
protection, crop or plant Yields and forest fires. It also important in studying
atmospheric Phenomenon such as cyclone, storm and hurricane.