Contents
Preface .............................................................. V
About the Editors . ................................................ VII
Authors .. .......................................................... IX
Section I:
Chapter 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.4.1
1.4.2
1.4.3
1.4.4
1.5
1.6
Chapter 2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
Chapter 3
3.1
3.1.1
3.1.2
3.1.3
3.1.4
3.1.5
3.1.6
Overview and Basic Principles ..................... 1
Introduction . ........................................... 3
Introduction ............................................. 3
Remote Sensing Defined .................................. 3
The Nature of Remote Sensing Data ........................ 4
Satellite Systems ......................................... 6
Remote Sensing Platforms ................................ 6
Remote Sensing Sensors .................................. 9
Spatial Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10
Temporal Resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12
Remote Sensing and Hydrology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12
Structure of the Book. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 13
Physical Principles and Technical Aspects
of Remote Sensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 15
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 15
The Electromagnetic Spectrum and Radiation Laws . . . . . . .. 15
Atmospheric Propagation.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 21
Reflection and Emission Characteristics of Natural Media. .. 26
Sensor Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 30
Summary of Current and Future
Earth Observation Missions ............................. 37
Processing Remotely Sensed Data:
Hardware and Software Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 41
Image Processing System Characteristics ...... . . . . . . . . . .. 41
The Central Processing Unit (CPU): Personal Computers,
Workstations and Mainframes ......... ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 41
Number of Analysts on a System and Mode of Operation . .. 44
Serial versus Parallel Image Processing, Arithmetic
Coprocessor, and Random Access Memory (RAM) ........ 44
Operating System and Software Compilers ...... , ......... 46
Mass Storage .......................................... 47
Screen Display Resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 48