Principles of Satellite

Remote Sensing
Sundar A. Christopher
Department of Atmospheric Science
UAHuntsville, AL

Definition
Remote sensing is the
measurement of an
object by a device that is
not in physical contact
with the object.

Types of Remote Sensing

Passive Sensors:
Satellites
Active Sensors:
Radar

Electromagnetic energy

The frequency of EM radiation is directly proportional to

the speed of light and Inversely proportional to the
wavelength
Commonly used satellite sensors sense EM radiation from
visible to infrared part of the spectrum

Why Satellite Remote Sensing?

Advantages: Repeated
reliable measurements
Disadvantages:
Expensive and need
expertise to convert
measurements to
geophysical values
such as temperature.
Numerous satellites
are now in orbit

NASA Observing Spacecraft

for Earth System Research

Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS)

Common types of orbits

Geostationary orbit
An orbit that has the
same Earths rotational
period
Appears fixed above
earth Satellite on
equator at ~36,000km

Polar orbiting orbit

fixed circular orbit
above the earth,
~1000km in sun
synchronous orbit with
orbital pass at about
same local time each
day

Example of satellite imagery

Shortwave and Longwave Radiation

Shortwave
radiation from the
sun is reflected
from earth
atmosphere that
is seen by satellite
(< 4 micron)
Longwave
radiation is earth
emitted radiation
(> 4 um)

Fate of EM Radiation

Incident solar energy can either be

reflected, transmitted or absorbed

Satellite imagery
In visible imagery water
is dark because it absorbs
most of the energy.
Clouds are white because
most of the incoming
energy is reflected
Pollution is hazy
depending upon its
absorptive properties

Atmospheric Windows

Portions of EM spectrum where absorption and

scattering is minimal is called Atmospheric Windows

Remote Sensing - Resolutions

4 major resolutions
Spatial resolution
Spectral resolution
Temporal resolution
Radiometric resolution

Spatial Resolutions
FOV

Spatial Resolution :
A simple definition
is the pixel size that
satellite images
cover.
Satellite images are
organized in rows
and column called
raster imagery and
each pixel has a
certain spatial
resolution.

IFOV

Satellite
height

Off-nadir
pixel size

Nadir
pixel size

Spectral Resolution
The number of
bands is
sometimes
referred to as
spectral
resolution
A better
definition is
the width is the
spectral band

Temporal Resolution
How often is data obtained for the same
area
Twice daily for polar orbiting satellites
Hourly or sub hourly for geostationary
satellites

Radiometric Resolution
The ability to separate small differences
in energy striking a sensor
For example 8 bits per pixel means the
image is quantized as 256 gray levels.
Examples, AVHRR : 10 bit, MODIS : 12
bit

Trade Offs
A sensor cannot extremely high
spectral, spatial and radiometric
resolutions.
We discuss this in the Critical
Thinking module.

Spectral Signatures

The unique signature of various classes (e.g.

Vegetation, Water, bare Soil) in the exam above
allows multi-spectral satellite imagery for
identification

What does satellite see?

Visible spectrum
-Satellite measure radiance and not geophysical quantities such as
temperature these radiance values must be converted to
parameters of interest.

Radiance - Definition
Radiance
I =flux per unit area
per unit solid angle
normal to the
direction of
propagation
[Wm-2sr-1]

The concept of
Stera-radian (sr)

From pretty pictures to numbers

Radiance is converted to
reflectance and
temperature
Multi-spectral Image
must be separated into
various features (clouds,
aerosols, ocean, land
etc.)
This must now be
converted to geophysical
parameter
For example:
Cloud top temperature

For a known satellite

Measured radiance the
Cloud top temperature
Can be calculated if the
Wavelength is given.
H, c, and k are all constants