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Source of Energy

The document discusses the physical basis of remote sensing. It explains that the main energy source is electromagnetic radiation, primarily from the sun. There are different types of electromagnetic radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from gamma rays and x-rays to microwaves and radio waves. Each type of radiation has a characteristic wavelength and frequency. Remote sensing utilizes radiation in the ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and microwave portions of the spectrum to detect properties of the Earth's surface.

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pg2
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44 views

Source of Energy

The document discusses the physical basis of remote sensing. It explains that the main energy source is electromagnetic radiation, primarily from the sun. There are different types of electromagnetic radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from gamma rays and x-rays to microwaves and radio waves. Each type of radiation has a characteristic wavelength and frequency. Remote sensing utilizes radiation in the ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and microwave portions of the spectrum to detect properties of the Earth's surface.

Uploaded by

pg2
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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2.

PHYSICAL BASIS OF REMOTE SENSING

2.1 Source of Energy

As was noted before, the first requirement for remote sensing is to have an energy source to
illuminate the target (unless the sensed energy is being emitted by the target). This energy is
in the form of electromagnetic radiation.

The most obvious source of electromagnetic energy and radiation is the sun. The sun provides
the initial energy source for much of the remote sensing of the Earth surface. The remote
sensing device that we humans use to detect radiation from the sun is our eyes. Yes, they can be
considered remote sensors - and very good ones - as they detect the visible light from the sun,
which allows us to see. There are other types of light which are invisible to us are also used in
remote sensing.

There are three ways of transferring energy:

i. Conduction
ii. Convection
iii. Radiation

i. Conduction: Atomic/molecular collisions cause energy


transfer. Requires physical contact with a conducting solid.

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Convection: Physical motion of energetic materials. Requires physical contact with energetic
liquid or gas.

Radiation: Energy is transferred by propagation of electromagnetic waves or particles. Can be


propagated through vacuum.

Here, we are talking about the energy transferring through radiation.

2.2 General Principle of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR)

All electromagnetic radiation has fundamental properties and behaves in predictable ways
according to the basics of wave theory.

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Electromagnetic radiation consists of an electrical field (E) which varies in magnitude in a
direction perpendicular to the direction in which the radiation is traveling, and a magnetic field
(M) oriented at right angles to the electrical field. Both these fields travel at the speed of light
(c).

Two characteristics of electromagnetic radiation are particularly important for understanding


remote sensing. These are the wavelength and frequency.

The wavelength is the length of one wave cycle, which can be measured as the distance between
successive wave crests. Wavelength is usually represented by the Greek letter lambda
(&lambda). Wavelength is measured in metres (m) or
some factor of metres such as nanometres (nm, 10-9
metres), micrometres (μm, 10-6 metres) (μm, 10-6
metres) or centimetres (cm, 10-2 metres). Frequency
refers to the number of cycles of a wave passing a
fixed point per unit of time. Frequency is normally
measured in hertz (Hz), equivalent to one cycle per
second, and various multiples of hertz.

Wavelength and frequency are related by the following


formula:

Therefore, the two are inversely related to each other. The shorter the wavelength, the higher
the frequency. The longer the wavelength, the lower the frequency. Understanding the
characteristics of electromagnetic radiation in terms of their wavelength and frequency is crucial
to understanding the information to be extracted from remote sensing data. Next we will be
examining the way in which we categorize electromagnetic radiation for just that purpose.

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The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The electromagnetic spectrum ranges from the shorter wavelengths (including gamma and x-
rays) to the longer wavelengths (including microwaves and broadcast radio waves). There are
several regions of the electromagnetic spectrum which
are useful for remote sensing.

For most purposes, the ultraviolet or UV portion of


the spectrum has the shortest wavelengths which are
practical for remote sensing. This radiation is just
beyond the violet portion of the visible wavelengths,
hence its name. Some Earth surface materials,
primarily rocks and minerals, fluoresce or emit visible
light when illuminated by UV radiation.

The light which our eyes - our "remote sensors" - can


detect is part of the visible spectrum. It is important
to recognize how small the visible portion is relative to
the rest of the spectrum. There is a lot of radiation
around us which is "invisible" to our eyes, but can be
detected by other remote sensing instruments and
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used to our advantage. The visible wavelengths cover a range from approximately 0.4 to 0.7 µm.
The longest visible wavelength is red and the shortest is violet. Common wavelengths of what we
perceive as particular colours from the visible portion of the spectrum are listed below. It is
important to note that this is the only portion of the spectrum we can associate with the concept
of colours.

Violet: 0.4 - 0.446 µm


Blue: 0.446 - 0.500 µm
Green: 0.500 - 0.578 µm
Yellow: 0.578 - 0.592 µm
Orange: 0.592 - 0.620 µm
Red: 0.620 - 0.7 µm

Blue, green, and red are the primary colours or wavelengths of


the visible spectrum. They are defined as such because no single
primary colour can be created from the other two, but all other
colours can be formed by combining blue, green, and red in various
proportions. Although we see sunlight as a uniform or homogeneous
colour, it is actually composed of various wavelengths of radiation in
primarily the ultraviolet, visible and infrared portions of the spectrum.
The visible portion of this radiation can be shown
in its component colours when sunlight is passed
through a prism, which bends the light in differing
amounts according to wavelength.

The next portion of the spectrum of interest is the


infrared (IR) region which covers the wavelength
range from approximately 0.7 µm to 100 µm -
more than 100 times as wide as the visible
portion! The infrared region can be divided into
two categories based on their radiation properties
- the reflected IR, and the emitted or thermal
IR. Radiation in the reflected IR region is used for
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remote sensing purposes in ways very similar to radiation in the visible portion. The reflected IR
covers wavelengths from approximately 0.7 µm to 3.0 µm. The thermal IR region is quite
different than the visible and reflected IR portions, as this energy is essentially the radiation that
is emitted from the Earth's surface in the form of heat. The thermal IR covers wavelengths from
approximately 3.0 µm to 100 µm.

The portion of the spectrum of more recent interest to remote sensing is the microwave region
from about 1 mm to 1 m. This covers the longest wavelengths used for remote sensing. The
shorter wavelengths have properties similar to the thermal infrared region while the longer
wavelengths approach the wavelengths used for radio broadcasts. Because of the special nature
of this region and its importance to remote sensing in Canada, an entire chapter (Chapter 3) of
the tutorial is dedicated to microwave sensing.

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