Remote Sensing Exam 2 Study Guide

Resolution
Analog – to – digital
• Instantaneous field of view (IFOV)
– f ( cone angle of optical system )
– Everything in that area contributes to
spectral response
• “mixels”
• Sampling rate
– Determines horizontal resolution
– # of sampling levels determines bits
• Instantaneous field of view (IFOV)
– f ( cone angle of optical system )
– Everything in that area contributes to spectral response
• “mixels”
– Dwell time – the time a sensor spends “looking” at any area
• Analog-Digital conversion process
– Photons strike detector, electrons flow proportional to the # photons
• # photons related to reflectance characteristics,
• λ (recall that shorter wavelengths carry more energy)
• Area viewed (more photons come from a larger area (at any λ))
• Spectral region width (wider region = more photons)
• Sampling rate
– Determines horizontal resolution
– # of sampling levels determines bit
• Spatial resolution
• Spectral resolution
• Radiometric resolution
• There are tradeoffs
– If you increase the spatial resolution (i.e. smaller area of coverage), detector is receiving energy from a
smaller area (less total energy received at detector at some λ)
• So, the spectral range needs to be increased to receive enough energy (or design a better detector)
– If you increase the spectral resolution (i.e. more bands each representing a smaller range of the EMS)
detectors are receiving energy in a narrower range of the spectrum (less total energy received at the
detector at some λ)
• So, the DWELL time needs to be increased to compensate, resulting in lower spatial resolution (or
design a better detector)
• Coverage area (altitude and field of view)
• Off-nadir capabilities (point sensor to side or front/aft)
Pushbroom System

Advantages
Fewer moving parts
Less energy drain
Less weight
Longer dwell time
Better geometric fidelity

Disadvantages
More sensors to calibrate
Limited spectral range

Orbital characteristics of satellites

• Altitude
• Period
• Inclination
• Equatorial crossing
– Sun synchronous
• Combination of orbital period and inclination that cause the satellite to cross the equator at the same
time (keeps pace with the sun’s westward progress
– Geostationary
• Equatorial orbit of an altitude that results in an orbital period of 24 hours.
• 36,000km

Earth resources space imaging

• ERTS-1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite
– A feasibility test
– First launched 7/23/1972
• But design began 1967
– Planned to launch six satellites
• Pre-launch designated as ERTS A,B,C,D,E,F
• Post-launch redesignated as ERTS 1,2,3,4,5,6
– “Open-sky” principle
• All countries may evaluate
– Just before ERTS-B launch, NASA renamed the
program to LANDSAT
• To differentiate it from a future program
launch Seasat
– ERTS1 renamed Landsat1 retroactively
 Landsat 1,2, 3
• Similar characteristics
– 185km swath width
– Sun synchronous orbit
• 9oinclination to equator
• Successive orbits 2760km apart
• 104 minutes orbital period
• Crosses equator at 9:42AM local time
– Takes advantage of normally better atm.
cond early in day
• Also provides same illumination conditions
for comparing images
• Large gaps between orbits on a given day (14/day)
• 18 day temporal resolution
– Overlap at equator 14%, at poles 84%

Return-beam Vidicon (RBV) system

RBV sensed in 3 bands equivalent to CIR film G,R,IR Bands 1,2,3
Television camera-like
Used a photosensitive surface with shutter, then scanned
Instant image (like camera) better geometric fidelity
Spatial resolution 80m
Landsat 3 changed to improve spatial resolution (30m) also single band (0.5-0.75um)
2 cameras (side-side)

MSS
• G, R, NIR, NIR
– .5.-6, .6-.7, .7-.8,.8-1.1um
– Bands 4,5,6,7
• Landsat 3 and B8 10.4-12.6
– Failed
• 6 contiguous lines scanned
• IFOV = 79m
• A-D on-board 0-63 (6-bit)
– B4-6 rescaled to 0-127 (7-bit)
• On ground
• Sampling rate = 100000/s
– Results in 56m horizontal spacing
Landsat 4,5 7
– 16 day orbital return period
(i.e. the temporal resolution)
– Altitude 705km
– 185km swath width
– Sun synchronous orbit
• 98.2oinclination to equator
• Crosses at 9:45Am
• Successive orbits 2760km apart
• 104 minutes orbital period
• Also provides same illumination
conditions for comparing images
• Orbits (14.5/day)
• Overlap at equator 14%, at poles 84%
• 8 bit resolution
– Except band 6 is 7 bit
• 30m IFOV
– Except band 6 is 120m on
TM4,5…60m on TM7
– 15m Pan on TM7
• 16 detectors for all bands (4 for B6)
totaling 100 detectors Note: Landsat 7 Added a pan Band 8’ 15m res0.4 to 0.9um
SPOT satellite
• French satellite (Toulouse, France)
• SPOT 1,2,3
• 26 day repeat period
• 20 m res. MSS
– 3 bands (G,R, NIR)
• 10 m res. Pan
• SPOT 4 – launched March 1998
• HRVIR
– Includes Mid-IR band (20m)
– Pan band replaced by red band
• Vegetation instrument
– 2250 km swath, 1 km IFOV, same bands as
HRVIR but blue used instead of green
• For oceanographic appllications
• SPOT 5 - launched May 2002
• 5 m res. (pan HRGeometric)
– May be resampled to 2.5 m
• 10 m res G,R,NIR
• 20 m res MIR (due to CCD limitations)
• HRStereoscopic instrument
– Fore-aft instruments for DEM generation
– Global 10 m

AVHRR – Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

EOS ESE Science Objectives
• Provide the first state distribution of the main Earthatmosphere coupled parameters
• Improve our ability to detect human impacts on climate, identify “fingerprints” of human activity on
climate, and predict climate change
• Provide observations that will improve forecasts of the timing and geographical extent of transient
climatic anomalies
• Improve seasonal and inter-annual predictions
• Develop technologies for disaster prediction,
characterization, and risk reduction from wildfires, volcanoes, floods, and droughts.
• Start long-term monitoring of the change in global climate and environmental change.

EOS (ESE) AM-1 Mission Overview

“Terra” and “Aqua”
Launch date: December 1999 Terra
May 2002 Aqua
Orbit: 705 km altitude, polar
Orbit period: 98.8 minutes
Equator crossing: 10:30 AM descending Terra
1:30 PM Ascending Aqua
Ground track repeat cycle: 16 days
Terra Instruments:
• Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
• Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Radiometer (ASTER)
• Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR)
• Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT)
• Clouds and the Earth Radiant Energy System (CERES)
MODIS
12-bit radiometric

Resolution for all Bands

2-day global coverage

Excellent band-band Registration and

Radiomertric accuracy

Aster
• 3 unique instruments (has off-nadir capabilities)
– Visible and Near Infrared (VNIR)
• 3 bands on nadir (bands 1-3)
– G, R, NIR
• 1 band 27.5º rear-looking (NIR & same as B3 on nadir)
– Capable of DEM generation
• 15m res
– Short Wave Infrared (SWIR)
• 6 bands (bands 4-9)
• 30m res
– Thermal Infrared (TIR)
• 5 bands (bands 10-14)
• 90m res

DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING

Image rectification & restoration

• Correct distortions and degradations to imagery
– Geometric distortions
– Radiometric distortions
– Sensor dependent
– Together, called “preprocessing techniques”

Image Enhancement
• More effectively portray image data for visual interpretation
• Many techniques
– No set “best” way
– Trial and error
– Sometimes several enhancements to a single image are the best way
Image classification
• Quantitative techniques for automating the identification of features in a scene
– Multispectral data
– Statistical based decision rules
– Spectral pattern recognition
– LULC mapping

Data merging / GIS

• Change detection
• Merging with GIS (LULC) w/zoning, topo, etc
• Multisensor merging
• Multitemporal data merging
• Hyperspectral image analysis
– Dozens to hundreds of bands
• Biophysical modeling
– Crop yield, water depth, insect infestation, pollution, etc
• Image compression

Statistics
• Mean
• Standard Deviation
• Histograms
– Graphical distribution of values in single band
• Used for interpretation
• And for enhancements
• Scatterplot & Ellipses
– Used for interpretation of band-pairs

Enhancements
• Process of making an image more interpretable
– Technique used f(dataset, desired result)
• Must know characteristics of dataset
• Have an objective
– Ex. Sharpening a dataset to better delineate boundaries
– Ex. Reducing the number of bands
• May be permanent or on-screen only
• Spectral enhancements
– Deals with pixels in different bands
• Spatial enhancements
– Deals with surrounding pixels in a single band
• Derive a new value based on values in surrounding pixels
– Moving window concept
Image enhancements
• Contrast enhancements
– Gray-level thresholding
– Level slicing
– Contrast stretching
• Spatial feature manipulation
– Filtering
– Edge enhancement
– Fourier analysis
• Multi-image manipulation
– Band ratioing
– Principle components
– IHS color space transforms
– Vegetation components

Contrast enhancements
• A form of spectral enhancements
• Increases the contrast in certain spectral ranges of the image
– Likely at the expense of others
– Goal – to make image more interpretable or features more identifiable
– Application in one band may not be appropriate for others (each band handled separately)

Contrast Stretching
• Linear contrast stretch
– Simple
• Sinusoidal stretch
– Divides histogram into several user-defined parts
• Doesn’t eliminate detail in some parts of image
• Histogram Equaliztion
– LUT values assigned based on frequency of occurrence
– Large regions of LUT reserved for common DN
– Small regions of LUT reserved for infrequent DN
– Concept based upon information yield
• Greatest information in most frequent pixels
• Special stretches
– Enhance whatever you’re interested in
• Water, veg, etc

Contrast enhancements
• Grey-level thresholding
– Segment image into 2 classes
– One above/below some user-defined value
– Often used to prepare a binary mask
• Level slicing
– Divide histogram into segments
– Each segment receives the same DN
• Each coded (colors)
• Elevations, Thermal imagery
Destriping
• “Sixth line striping” or …
• Variations in calibration (sensitivity) of same sensor on different lines
• Produces contrast variation parallel to scan
• Fix
– Averaging
– Histogram Normalization
• MUST be done prior to geometric correction