3.

An introduction to Remote Sensing and Basic Principles of GIS

Remote Sensing (RS) is the act of deriving data about the earth s surface! from above it. Previousl" images #ere obtained through photograph" from aircraft for processing into maps. $o# the term Remote Sensing is used most often specificall" to satellite%mounted multispectral& sensors! such as the 'andsat series of satellites. (his is normall" available in digital format from one of the satellite agencies (see chapter )). Some *ind of RS or GIS soft#are is re+uired to be able to read the image! though once the basic map image has been produced! techni+ues other than GIS can be used to process or manipulate it (see chapter ,). Geographical Information S"stems (GIS)- are best described as soft#are and techni+ues for displa"ing and anal"sing information about the earth in a digital form. GIS and RS soft#are share man" similar attributes and some soft#are pac*ages claim to be both RS and GIS soft#are. (he" are similar fields in that the" both are concerned #ith the digital representation of geographic phenomena and often both emplo" the same spatial anal"tical techni+ues to manipulate the data. .nce the image (usuall" received as a set of la"ers) has been processed! there are a number of #a"s in #hich it can be used and manipulated! using manual and/or digital techni+ues. (he research has established that a map useable for basic planning purposes can be produced #ith 0ust three la"ers of a basic 'andsat image or tile (appro1imatel" &2 of the data supplied).

.ptical Remote Sensing

Remote sensing is simpl" the observation of an ob0ect from a distance. 3arious forms of aerial photograph" have been used to create maps of the earth s surface since the eighteenth centur". Satellite remote sensing can be traced bac* to the mid% &4,5s and the launch of various roc*ets (the 3i*ing series) from 6hite Sands in $e# 7e1ico! and #hich contained cameras on board. (he first satellite sensor dedicated to the multi%spectral remote sensing of earth s surface #as launched in &48-. Initiall" named the Earth Resources Technology Satellites (ERTS)! this series #as renamed 9'andsat in &48)! and is still in operation toda". .ver the last three decades earth observation has become increasingl" sophisticated! #ith a large number of countries including those in the developing #orld recentl" launching their o#n remote sensing satellites! such as India! Bra:il! ;hina and Pa*istan. Remote sensing data has proved invaluable in a #ide range of research fields! from ma*ing maps of the earth surface! to monitoring rene#able and
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7ultispectral is the term used for recording images at various #avelengths! each as a separate la"er related to a given defined image boundar". Singl" or in combination the" reveal much information about that portion of the earth<s surface % #hat is on it! in it and #hat it is composed of. 6hen combined and compared #ith ad0oining images a much broader picture can be constructed of the earth<s surface. 2 A GIS is a sophisticated database management s"stem designed to ac+uire! image! visualise! and displa" spatiall" referenced (geographical) forms of data. =ohn R ;ampbell % Interdisciplinar" Research and GIS % ASA 7onograph 34! Routeledge -55-.

non%rene#able natural resources! to urban planning. Its success is due to its uni+ue capabilit" to provide near real%time information of the earth s surface at a variet" of scales. In addition! the continuous nature of the data ac+uisition! the regular revisit of the sensor to previousl" imaged areas of the earth! and the digital nature of the data have all added to its success and reliabilit".

(he >lectromagnetic Spectrum

(he basic principle underl"ing remote sensing is the measurement of electromagnetic energ" reflected or emitted b" various features on the earth s surface or in its atmosphere. (he entire arra" of electromagnetic radiation at its various #avelengths is referred to as the 9electromagnetic spectrum . 6avelengths are measured in micrometers (& micrometer (m) ? &5 @A meters). Bigure 3.&C Simple Diagram of the >lectromagnetic Spectrum.

SourceC httpC//imagers.gsfc.nasa.gov/ems/#aves3.html

At one end of the spectrum are radio #aves and micro#aves that have ver" long #avelengths. At the shorter end of the spectrum are 1%ra"s and gamma ra"s! and in the middle is the narro# range of optical #avelengths visible to human e"es. 3arious sections of the spectrum are of use in remote sensing. (hese are primaril" atmospheric 9#indo#s @ bands of #avelengths #here the radiation passes easil" through the atmosphere to the surface of the earth. (he most commonl" used are visible and infrared #avelengthsC 3isible portion! consisting of blue! green and redC 5.,m to 5.8m Infrared portion! consisting of near! short%#ave! and thermalC 5.8m to &,m

A satellite sensing s"stem #ill be designed to 9image a certain portion of the spectrum! i.e. to record the amount of radiation reflected or emitted at various #avelengths. In order to collect a sufficient amount of energ" to provide a reliable measurement! satellite sensors #ill record the reflectance over an interval of #avelengths. (hese are referred to as channels or wavebands. (he Advanced 3er" Eigh Resolution Radiometer (A3ERR) for e1ample images at one visible channel (5.)3 @ 5.83m)! one near infrared channel (5.83 @ &.&m)! t#o short%#ave infrared channels (&.)F @ &.A,m and 3.) @ 3.4m)! and t#o thermal infrared channels (&5.3 @ &&.3m and &&.) @ &-.)m). It is therefore a multispectral sensor! as it images over more than one #aveband of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Picture >lements or Pi1els

A remote sensing image is made up of an arra" of s+uare picture elements or pixels. In an optical image the si:e of the ground area represented b" a single pi1el is determined b" the spatial resolution of the satellite. (he spatial resolution can be described simpl" as the smallest ob0ect that can be distinguished from its surroundings. (hus for images produced b" the A3ERR sensor! the pi1el si:e is &*m b" &*m. In comparison the >nhanced (hematic 7apper (>(7) onboard 'andsat 8 has a resolution of &)m. A pi1el in this case thus represents an area of &)m b" &)m (or --)m-).

(he Principles of GIS

A GIS (Geographical Information S"stem) can be described as a computer mapping and data storage s"stem! in #hich data is tied to points! lines! pol"gons or pi1els on a computer displa". Rather than 0ust a <dumb map<! in #hich colours and s"mbols represent geographical features! the user can interact to var"ing levels #ith a GIS. Bor e1ample! clic* the mouse on a line and discover the name of the road it represents! it s length! the last time it #as surfaced! #ho carried out the surfacing #or*! #hen it #ill need surfacing again! statistics about the number of road traffic offences committed there in the last "ear. (he possibilities are almost endless. Additionall"! a GIS can use the spatial information it contains in combination #ith attribute data to perform spatial anal"sis. Bor e1ample #e ma" #ant to *no#! ho# man" Gorean restaurants there are #ithin a t#ent"%mile radius of a hotel! or ho# far "ou could get in a car along a certain route. Hou could as* #hat could I see if loo*ed in this direction! stood at this point @ or #here could "ou see me fromI

Data Structures
(he #a" a GIS does this is to use data structures to represent geographical ob0ect. It does so in t#o main #a"s called <raster< and <vector<. Raster Data Structure In a raster data structure! realit" is divided into an arra" of s+uare pi1els @ each of #hich has a value. Bor e1ample! & ma" be road! - pasture! 3 #ater! etc. (he image on the left belo# sho#s a raster depiction of a house! b" a river #ith a road serving the house and continuing on past. >ach pi1el has a code that represents its land t"pe. (he advantage of this is that another la"er can be placed sho#ing propert" value! for e1ample! over this map and a calculation can then be made pi1el to pi1el through the la"ers. (his can be done #ith as man" la"ers as needed.

Bigure 3.-C Raster 3ersus 3ector Data Structure

Raster Data Structure

3ector Data Structure

3ector Data Structure (he other (and most common) form of GIS data structure is the vector data structure or ob0ect approach. Geographical ob0ects are constructed of point! lines and pol"gons. In the vie# above the house is a pol"gon! constructed of lines that change direction at points. Bigure 3.3C 3ector Depiction of an Imaginar" Area

In figure 3.3! an imaginar" vector depiction sho#s the three components used together to depict geographic ob0ects. (he points could represent cities! or oil #ells @ an" discreet location or area that can be represented as a single point on a map! depending on the scale of the map. (he line could represent a road! a river! the route of an e1ploration or advance @ an" linear feature. (he line is constructed of a series of points! *no#n as vertices. >ach verte1 defines the point at #hich the line changes direction. In a GIS some

*no#ledge is built into these lines! so for e1ample the GIS can tell #hich direction along each line is <for#ard< or <bac*#ards<! *no#n as the <to< and <from< nodes! or #hich count"! :one is on each side of the line. (he pol"gonal theme @ #hich could be counties! propert" parcels! electoral :one etc% is constructed of lines (in turn defined b" points) that 0oin up to create a closed area.

Interoperabilit" and Availabilit"

Although most GIS pac*ages use a combination of raster and vector data structure! the" often call the same things b" different names! or! even #orse! use the same name to describe different things. 6orse than that! GIS soft#are manufacturers often produce GIS outputs in forms that are not compatible #ith other soft#are t"pes. (his is supposed to have stopped happening. In &44, the .pen GIS ;onsortium (.G;) #as formed #ith a vie# to standardising (or at least ma*ing interoperable) all geospatial data. Great strides have been made to achieve this aim b" the .G; and advances have been made b" the .G;. Eo#ever! although steps #ere made to#ard interoperabilit"! it still isn<t a realit". Data still cannot be opened in forms from one GIS in another. Bor e1ample! a 7apInfo tab file cannot be opened in an >SRI product and vice versaJ an >SRI shp file cannot be opened in 7apInfo. (he problem is that it does not seem to be seen to as trul" in the GIS industr" s interest (or nature) to be open or interoperable. As the GIS mar*et continues to gro#! competition continues and GIS companies individuall" thin* the" need the <edge< of some *ind to ensure their survival or success.

Kncertaint" and 7etadata

(he problem #ith the digital representation of realit" in this #a" is that there #ill al#a"s be some *ind of abstraction. Realit" is immensel" comple1 and maps are generall" ver" simple models of it. A #hole sub%discipline of GIS has arisen to discuss the nature of and potential solutions to the uncertaint" that arises from this fact and the uncertaint" associated #ith the data upon #hich GIS maps are based. (he problem is that uncertaint" is the onl" reall" certain thing in cartograph" / GIS. And the onl" true strateg" for dealing #ith it is to ac*no#ledge its e1istence and ma*e some attempt to +uantif" the level of error or uncertaint" in an image. (he best #a" of doing this is through metadata @ roughl" spea*ing! data about data.3 (he idea is that #hen "ou create a map or an annotated image! "ou create a file that goes #ith it @ the metadata file @ #hich e1plains! for e1ample! #here the image / map came from! #hat #as done to it and #hen. (his allo#s an"one #ho uses the image after "ou to +uantif" the error or uncertaint" associated #ith the image. Bigure 3., sho#s a metadata file for a 'andsat image from >SDI.

metadata n.! a set of data that describes and gives information about other data. .>D

Bigure 3.,C 7etadata Bile for 'andsat Image

Eo#ever! some metadata standards can be e1tremel" e1haustive. Bor e1ample! the document sho#n in figure 3.) sho#s a file created to describe a GIS la"er of #ells created b" the Kniversit" of 6"oming s 6ater resources ;entre (httpC//###.#"gisc.u#"o.edu/metadata/#ells.html). Bigure 3.)C 7etadata Bile for 6ell Eead GIS 'a"er (Kniversit" of 6"oming).

;lassif"ing the Data

A primar" use of remote sensing data is in classif"ing various features #ithin a scene into classes! thereb" creating a thematic map. In a certain #aveband or channel a road! for e1ample! #ill reflect less energ" than the surrounding vegetation! #hereas in other #avebands it #ill reflect or emit more. (herefore! theoreticall"! it should be possible to distinguish bet#een different t"pes of surface features based on their spectral responses or 9spectral signatures . (he more #avebands that are used! the easier it should be to separate different features! as the more detailed their spectral signatures #ill be. (his is the theoretical basis underl"ing multispectral classification procedures. Although a classification ma" be performed on a multitemporal (as opposed to multispectral) dataset! this is

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onl" of relevance if distinct spectral changes are e1pected to ta*e place over time! for e1ample in agricultural seasons and crop rotation or rapidl" developing or changing urban areas. (he theor" of classification allo#s us to perform t#o t"pes of classification @ unsupervised or supervised. (he main difference bet#een the t#o is that! during an unsupervised classification! it is the computer that develops the spectral signatures that #ill be used in the classification process! not the user. In addition! #ith an unsupervised classification! pi1els are assigned to a class based on their spectral characteristics alone. During the unsupervised classification! pi1els #ill be clustered based on the natural spectral groupings present in the dataset. >1actl" ho# the assignment of a pi1el to a cluster ta*es place #ill depend on the soft#are used. (he most commonl" used is the Iterative Self%.rgani:ing Data Anal"sis (echni+ue (IS.DA(A) algorithm. Pi1els are assigned to classes based on their spectral distance from a class mean. (his is an iterative process! #ith the class means shifting after each iteration. (he process ends #hen either a ma1imum number of iterations have been performed! or a ma1imum percentage of unchanged pi1els has been reached bet#een iterations. (he various clusters created #ill then need to be compared to in situ data! in order to assign meaningful values to them. In contrast! a supervised classification re+uires some prior *no#ledge of the classes present #ithin the scene! in order to create a set of 9training data from #hich the spectral characteristics of each class #ill be determined. (he first stage is thus the training stage. (his involves the identification of areas representative of each class #ithin the image. (he D$ values of each area are then used to create spectral signatures for each cover t"pe. As the classification #ill be based on these training sets! it is imperative that the" represent the full spectral variation of each cover class. (he accurac" of the final classification is determined b" the +ualit" of these training sets! so it is important to spend some time creating these as accuratel" as possible. .nce the training sets have been identified! the image can be classified. $umerous supervised classification algorithms e1ist. Some of the most common ones that are t"picall" found in image processing soft#are are described briefl" in Bo1es 3.& and 3.-.

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Box 3.1 Types of Classifier

(he Minimum-distance-to-means classifier is one of the simplest classification algorithms. (he mean spectral value for each #aveband! for each cover class is computed. (he distance bet#een the value of an un*no#n pi1el is then compared to the mean values for each cover class. Binall"! the pi1el is assigned to the class to #hich it is closest. If the pi1el value is further from all of the mean values than a user%defined distance! it is classified as 9un*no#n . In contrast! the Parallelepiped classifier e1amines the range of the values in each of the training sets. A parallelepiped (a rectangular area) is defined surrounding the mean value of each class @ if the pi1el value lies #ithin the parallelepiped it is assigned to that class. If the pi1el falls #ithin more than one class! it is assigned to an 9overlap class! and if it falls in none! it is assigned to 9un*no#n . Binall"! the Maximum li elihood classifier e1amines both the variance and covariance of the spectral signatures for each cover class in order to classif" a pi1el. (he probabilit" that a pi1el belongs to a certain class is calculated! #ith the pi1el being assigned to the most li*el" class @ or labelled 9un*no#n if all the probabilit" values are belo# a user%defined threshold.

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Box 3.2 Automatic Extraction of Features from Satellite Imagery is not always ractica!le
In remote sensing technolog"! the use of algorithms to automaticall" e1tract features from satellite imager" in order to create maps! is still reasonabl" ne# and cutting edge. Armin Gruen in S#it:erland and Ian Do#man in the KG have #or*ed e1tensivel" #ith algorithms that can follo# linear features or e1tract features based on their shape and / or spectral characteristics. (his represents a great advantage for the cartographic industr" and national mapping agencies ($7As) have been ver" interested in their development. (he dra#bac* is that it is e1tremel" e1pensive. (he effort re+uired in terms of images! processing! hard#are! training ma*e this a ver" specialised operation and so not reall" appropriate at present for the developing #orld. Eo#ever! there is a reference section at the end of the report giving the *e" references on automatic feature e1traction for mapping. In practice! 'andsat imager"! for instance! either printed out or vie#ed on a screen can be generall" and #ell interpreted at &C-)!555 to &C)5!555 scale b" an operative trained in aerial photograph" and #ho has a local ground *no#ledge of the area covered. Areas of uncertain classification such as #ater! roc*! building! road! rail#a"! ne# gro#n grass! recentl" tilled land! bare earth! and so forth #ill still need to be identified as a +uer" and chec*ed on the ground. (he process can be iterative and self correcting if clear records are *ept. (here is a need to *eep field chec*ing of general topographical <map< classification separate from the collection of detailed <+ualit"< and <+uantit"< land use classification. (he latter should be a separate e1ercise once the topographical base has been verified.

T"e a#$antages an# #isa#$antages of t"e %S approac"

A#$antages
It is relativel" Ine1pensive. (he cost of soft#are and data (#hich often represents a one%off cost) is less e1pensive than sending teams of surve"ors out into the field. ;urrent (#ithin reason). .ne particular problem that the developing #orld faces is that data is old or out of date. Satellite imager" can be ac+uired for free from the last decade and contemporar" data can be ac+uired fairl" ine1pensivel" Provides data about large areas

&isa#$antages
(here #ill be doubtful and uncertainties of classification related to pi1el si:e. A full field chec* #ill be necessar" to resolve ground use in these areas. Datasets from multiple sources are sometimes difficult to georeference. Ksing images and maps that are dra#n in different scales and pro0ections can lead to difficult" combining them. (he sensor performs a s#eep and as such can create errors. i.e.! onl" some of the image is directl" belo# the sensor and so pi1els to#ard the edge of the image ma" be distorted. .b0ects in the image can be confused or mis% classified. Bor e1ample! shado#s ma" loo* li*e metalled roads. (o get an" level of detailed! current data and to bu" specialist RS soft#are can be e1pensive In some active sensing s"stems (such as lidar) the sensor and source are moving relative to each other distortions can creep to the image. (his is a form of Doppler effect (the visual e+uivalent of a police siren changing pitch as it moves closer or further a#a" from "ou).

Provides data about inaccessible areas % or even if the" re not inaccessible! then at least "ou don t have to go there. Rapid production of maps possible >as" to manipulate (relativel"L) #ith computers and derive information for map production.

Rapid collection of data @ much more efficient that ground surve"L

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