Remote sensing

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Introduction

There is an increasing demand for accurate, timely information on environmental and natural resources, including spatial relationships and temporal changes and trends, local to global. {{Definition|title=Remote Sensing |definition= In the broadest sense, remote sensing is the measurement or acquisition of information of an object or phenomenon, by a recording device that is not in physical or intimate contact with the object. In practice, remote sensing is the utilization at a distance (as from aircraft, spacecraft, satellite, or ship) of any device for gathering information about the environment [1]. Advantages of this technology are:

  • Observation of a large geographical area
  • Long-term and fast collection of data
  • Lower collecting costs
  • "Inaccessible" regions become accessible (e.g. Antarctica)
  • Object is not being destroyed

Disadvantages are:

  • Lower spatial resolution (depending on the type of sensor)
  • Need for the installation of complex systems (which have a long testing phase)
  • Captured data need to be calibrated via in-situ data
  • Noise caused by another source than the desired one
  • Atmospheric effects degrade the quality of the images and need to be corrected

General principles

Types of sensors

Effects of atmosphere

Applications

See also

References