Remote Sensing

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• Remote Sensing
• Through
• Satellite Technology

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REMOTE SENSING

• The study of something without making actual
  contact with the object
• Making measurements of the Physical properties of
  an object from a remote distance
• Satellite technology is an example of remote
  sensing
• Satellites measure properties of the Earth and
  transmits the data to receiving stations

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The Process of Remote Sensing

• There are interactions with the atmosphere
• The energy reaches the target, or object on Earth
  being studied and interacts with the target based
  on the targets properties.
• Energy scattered by or emitted from the target is
  then collected by the sensor
• The sun, or the satellite itself, is the energy
  source that provides electromagnetic energy
• The sensor transmits the electronic information
  to a receiving and processing station. Here, it
  is processed into an image
• The processed image is then interpreted to learn
  about the target
• The information is applied so that we better
  understand the target, learn something new about
  the target, or solve a particular problem

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ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

• Radiation energy that is emitted in wave form by
  all substances
• The basis for all remote sensing of the earth

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Electromagnetic Radiation
Electromagnetic radiation consists of an
electrical field, E and a magnetic field, M.
Both of these fields travel at the speed of
light, c. Different kind of electromagnetic
radiation can be distinguished by wavelength and
frequency.
Wavelength (?) Wavelength is the length of one
wave cycle, which is the distance between two
consecutive wave crests
Frequency (v) Frequency is the number of waves
that that pass a point in a given amount of time
Wavelength and frequency are related by the
following formula c?v c- speed of light ?-
wavelength v- frequency
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The Electromagnetic Spectrum

• The electromagnetic spectrum is an arrangement of
  all the types of electromagnetic radiation
  ordered according to wavelength

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Microwaves

• Microwaves have wavelengths that can be
  measured in centimeters! The longer microwaves,
  those closer to a foot in length, are the waves
  which heat our food in a microwave oven.

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Infrared (IR) Light

• Infrared light lies between the visible and
  microwave portions of the electromagnetic
  spectrum.
• Infrared light has a range of wavelengths, just
  like visible light, that range from red light to
  violet.
• "Near infrared" light is closest in wavelength to
  visible light
• Far infrared" is closer to the microwave region
  of the electromagnetic spectrum.
• The longer, far infrared wavelengths are about
  the size of a pin head and the shorter, near
  infrared ones are the size of cells, or are
  microscopic.

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Far Infrared Thermal

• Far infrared waves are thermal. We experience
  this type of infrared radiation every day in the
  form of heat! The heat that we feel from
  sunlight, a fire, a radiator or a warm sidewalk
  is infrared. The temperature-sensitive nerve
  endings in our skin can detect the difference
  between inside body temperature and outside skin
  temperature.
• Infrared light is sometimes used to heat food -
  special lamps that emit thermal infrared waves
  are often used in fast food restaurants!

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Short Infrared

• Shorter, near infrared waves are not hot at
  all - in fact you cannot even feel them. These
  shorter wavelengths are the ones used by your
  TV's remote control.

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Visible Light

• Visible light is light that our eyes can see
• Visible light makes up an extremely small part of
  the electromagnetic spectrum
• Range from about 0.4 to 0.7µm
• Blue, red and green are the primary colors of
  light. All other colors can be made by combining
  them in various proportions. here for an
  interesting activity.
• Each color has a different wavelength. Red has
  the longest wavelength and violet has the
  shortest wavelength. When all the waves are seen
  together, they make white light.

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Ultraviolet (UV) Light

• Ultraviolet (UV) light has shorter wavelengths
  than visible light.
• Though these waves are invisible to the human
  eye, some insects, like bumblebees, can see them!
• Though some ultraviolet waves from the Sun
  penetrate Earth's atmosphere, most of them are
  blocked from entering by various gases like
  Ozone.
• Some days, more ultraviolet waves get through our
  atmosphere. Scientists have developed a UV index
  to help people protect themselves from these
  harmful ultraviolet waves.

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A
Infrared and Remote Sensing
To make infrared pictures like the one above, we
can use special cameras and film that detect
differences in temperature, and then assign a
different brightness or false colors to them.
This provides a picture that our eyes can
interpret. there is more detail in the clouds in
the infrared. This is great for studying cloud
structure. Since the primary source of infrared
radiation is heat or thermal radiation, any
object which has a temperature radiates in the
infrared. Even objects that we think of as being
very cold, such as an ice cube, emit infrared.
When an object is not quite hot enough to radiate
visible light, it will emit most of its energy in
the infrared.
B
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Visible Light and Remote Sensing
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Infrared and Remote Sensing

• Measures radiation emitted from the Earth at a
  wavelength that can penetrate the atmosphere.
• Allows surface temperatures to be measured from
  space.
• Can be used with out light

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What Are Satellites?

• Satellites are smaller objects traveling around
  larger objects
• Satellites may be man-made or natural, like the
  moon
• The two main types of satellites are
  polar-orbiting and geostationary
• Satellites are designed for three general
  purposes science, applications, or communications

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Artificial Satellites

• Artificial Satellites are human-made space craft
  that are built and sent into space by people.
  These spacecraft can be crewed, such as the Space
  Shuttle, or uncrewed, such as NASAs Hubble Space
  Telescope

Communications Satellite
Hubble Space Telescope
NPOESS Satellite
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Polar-Orbiting Satellites

• Polar orbiting satellites travel in a circular
  pattern over the North and the South Poles, so
  they can look at large portions of the Earth as
  it turns below them. Polar-orbiting satellites
  are placed into a low-Earth orbit. They orbit at
  about 800 kilometers (500 miles) above the Earth.
  They travel at about 17,000 miles per hour.

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Geostationary Satellites
Geostationary satellites orbit the Earth at about
22,300 miles above the equator. Seen from Earth,
the satellite appears to be floating over a
certain spot on the equator. They are primarily
used for weather and communication.
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Scientific Satellites

• Most well-known type of satellite
• Information from these satellites clarify the
  Earths history, present condition, and what the
  future may hold
• Other scientific satellites look away from the
  Earth, studying the sun, stars, planets and other
  aspects of the universe

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Application/Weather Satellites

• Application satellites are used to test and
  develop ways to improve global weather
  forecasting
• These satellites are vital in predicting where
  and when tropical storms, hurricanes, floods,
  cyclones, tidal waves and forest fires may strike
• The Television Infrared Observation Satellite
  (TIROS), launched in 1960, was the first of a
  series of meteorological satellites to carry
  television cameras to photograph the Earths
  cloud cover for research and forecasting
• Later satellites, like the series of Nimbus
  satellites first launched in 1964, had infrared
  cameras as well. These satellites improved upon
  storm and hurricane forecasting and played a
  major role in the study of ozone depletion

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Communications Satellites

• first commercial satellites
• Aluminum-coated balloons were the first
  communications satellites
• The first commercially-launched satellite was
  Telestar 1, launched by ATT in 1962. It
  transmitted photos and phone calls between
  America and Europe. This satellite was capable
  of 600 phone Communications satellites were the
  channels or one television channel
• Today, satellites like Intelsat provide up to
  120,000 simultaneous two-way telephone circuits

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Satellite Motion

• A satellite is a projectile. A projectile is
  an object upon which the only force acting is
  gravity.

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Satellite Motion

• The force of gravity accelerates the satellite
  towards Earth.
• While a satellite does fall towards the Earth,
  it never falls into Earth. This is because the
  Earth is round (it curves).

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Satellite Motion

• In order for a satellite to successfully orbit
  the Earth, it must travel a horizontal distance
  of 8000 meters before falling a vertical distance
  of 5 meters.

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National Polar Orbiting-Operational Environmental
Satellite System(NPOESS)

• The next generation environmental satellite
  system
• Serving civil, military and scientific community
• Polar orbiting satellites observing Earth from
  space

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THREE AGENCIES--ONE MISSION

• Combines civilian and military environmental
  remote sensing into a single national system
• Combines separate and often duplicative
  capabilities
• Program managed by the Integrated Program Office
  (IPO)

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• Background
• NPOESS will provide civilian leaders and
  military commanders timely, accurate, and
  reliable environmental data to protect U.S. lives
  and property and ensure the Nations
  environmental, economic, national, and homeland
  security. NPOESS is a pathfinder interagency
  program with contributions from DOC, DOD, and
  NASA.

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Civilian Benefits

• Timely, accurate, and cost-effective public
  warnings and forecasts of severe weather events,
  reduce the potential loss of human life and
  property and advance the national economy
• Support of general aviation, agriculture, and
  maritime communities aimed at increasing U.S.
  productivity
• Commitment to support long-term data continuity
  for environmental monitoring and Global Change
  Assessment

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Protect Safety of Life and Property
Improve the Accuracy of Severe Weather Warnings
Increase in hurricane landfall forecast skill
will save an estimated 1 million per mile of
coastline that does not have to be evacuated.
Improved Microwave Imagery/Sounding products will
improve prediction of wind speed and direction.
Improved early warnings mitigate the devastating
effects of floods through disaster planning and
response.
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National Security Benefits

• Shift tactical and strategic focus from coping
  with weather to anticipating and exploiting
  atmospheric and space environmental conditions
• Weather permeates all aspects of military
  operations. NPOESS data will provide situational
  awareness which is critical to
• Strategic Planning Tactical Superiority

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Technological Benefits

• Advanced cutting edge sensors increases accuracy
• Higher spatial resolution since polar stellites
  are closer to the Earth
• 95 of data delivered within 28 minutes
• And many other benefits

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How Will the NPOESS Satellites Send Data?

• Sensors collect raw data which is packaged by
  computers on board the satellite

• Radio waves carry the raw data stream to the
  ground station

Some data will be available for retrieval at
military field terminals

• Raw data is converted into digital form at the
  ground station

Mobile or Laptop Field Terminal
Ground Station
Civilian and Military Agencies

• Data is sent through fiber optic cables to users

• Data is used to create useful images

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Safety Net Ground Stations
The circles represent the areas in which data may
be transmitted from the satellite to the ground
stations. The data is stored on satellites
until the satellite is over one of the 14 ground
stations (safety net).
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NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP)

• NPP, or the NPOESS Preparatory Project, is an
  instrument risk reduction mission.
• In 2006, the NPP satellite will be launched.
• The NPP satellite will have the following four
  sensors onboard
• VIIRS Vis/IR Imager Radiometer Suite
  (IPO) CrIS Cross-track IR Sounder (IPO)
• ATMS Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder
  (NASA)
• OMPS Ozone Mapping and Profile Suite (IPO)
• Scientists will use the NPP satellite as a test
  satellite. Any problems that are found with the
  satellite and sensors or with the ground stations
  may be corrected before NPOESS is launched.
  Users may also evaluate the information that they
  are receiving from the satellite.
• The NPP satellite will take over gathering data
  for NASAs EOS Terra/Aqua/Aura missions

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Satellites and their Sensors
1330 1730 2130 VIIRS X X X CMIS X
X X CrIS X X ATMS X X SESS X OMPS X ADCS X X SAR
SAT X X X ERBS X SS X X X ALT X TSIS X APS X
Single Satellite Design with Common Sensor
Locations
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NPOESS Instruments
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VIIRS Visible IR Imaging Radiometer Suite

• Imagery
• Sea-surface temperature
• Aerosol optical thickness
• Aerosol particle size
• Surface albedo
• Cloud base height
• Cloud cover/layers
• Cloud Effective particle size
• Cloud top height
• Cloud top pressure
• Cloud top Temperature
• Ice surface temperature
• Land surface temperature
• Ocean color/chlorophyll
• Precipitable water
• Sea ice characterization
• Snow cover/depth
• Surface type
• Active fires

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OMPSOzone Mapping And Profiler Suite

• Ozone total column profile

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CRISCross Track IR Sounder
ATMS Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder

• Atmosphere Vertical Moisture Profile
• Atmosphere Vertical Temperature Profile
• Pressure (Surface/profile)

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Resources

• CD ROM Sentinels Against the Storm
• NASA Facts Online, NASA Fact Sheets,
  Satellites, http//pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/servic
  e/gallery/fact_sheets/general/satsum.htm,
  7/13/2004
• Fundamentals of Remote Sensing, Natural Resources
  Canada, 7/13
• http//www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/ccrs/learn/tutorials/
  fundam/chapter1/chapter1_1_e.html
• http//imagers.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Imagers Project
  7/14
• http//imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/sats_n_data/sat_
  to_grnd.html
• http//csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/light/spec
  trum.html
• http//www.fishponds.freeserve.co.uk/emspectrum/mi
  crowave.html
• http//teach.fcps.net/trt10/PowerPoint.htm
• Jeopardy game
• http//www.fearofphysics.com/Satellite/satellite.
  html
• physics of satellite
• http//www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/vectors/u3l2
  a.html
• Projectile facts
• Jill Twetten and Tress Potter