Why GIS & Remote Sensing?

Remote sensing-
Capability to achieve a Synoptic View The main objective of the Remote
Potential for Fast Survey Sensing is to extractEnvironmental
Capability of Repetitive Converge to detect the changes and earth’s resources data
Low cost involvement Uses- Large regions can be observed over time
Higher accuracy Synoptic view (Big coverages)
Use of multispectral data for increased information Records information in “real time”
Inaccessible area coverage Definition- Remote sensing is the science of gathering
All weather/ day and night capability information about an object or phenomenon without
Simultaneous observations from a single platform at making physical contact with it. It involves recording the
different resolution/ angles, spectral regions over radiation energy that is emitted and reflected from the
lands, atmosphere and oceans object.
GIS is a Computer based system to The Main Elements of Remote Sensing are
RE PRESENT & ANALYSE 1. Electro-Magnetic Energy (EME) 2. Platform (place
Features present on the Earth' surface where satellites are kept ) 3. Sensors
What can you do with a GIS? Types of satellites
Environmental impact assessment 1. Geo-stationary satellite
Resource management 2. Sun synchronous satellite (polar satellite)
Land use planning Geo-stationay satellites
Tax Mapping Their altitude is about 36000 km from MSL, They moves
Water and Sanitation Mapping west to east, And orbital is equatorial , Angular coverage
Transportation routing is 120 degrees , Their orbital period is 24 hrs , Used for
Flood mapping meteorological studies,,T.V. / Telecommunications etc.,
Landslides monitoring ex-Aryabhata- The first Indian Satellite.
Noise mapping INSAT-1 : First generation Geo-stationary Satellites
(i) GIS Objectives :- 1A, 1B, 1C, 1 , INSAT–2 series satellites: 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D
--Maximize the efficiency of planning and decision making. Sun synchronous satellite
--Provide efficient means for data distribution and These satellites are also called as polar satellites as they
handling. move along the poles from North to South.
--Elimination of redundant database –minimize These are synchronized in such a way that they cross
duplication. every latitude at same local time as earth rotates. That is
--Capacity to integrate information from many sources. why these are called Sun-Synchronous satellites
--Complex analysis / query involving geographical Their altitude is about 900 km from MSL
referenced Their orbit is polar, Their orbital period is 100 minutes
data to generate new information. Their inclination is 980 w.r.t. equator.
Components of GIS Data is recorded at descending mode of satellite
Database,Methodology,Software,Hardware,People These satellites are useful for mapping purpose and
Geographic Data Types for extraction of earth’s resources data
Primary data - collections made through observations Sun-synchronous satellites
Secondary data - supplied by other established source Examples: -IRS 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D
Tertiary Data – Published data -IRS P2, P3 P4, P6(Resource sat.), P5(CARTOSAT –1)
RASTER VECTOR sensors
Simple Data Structure Complex Data Structure Sensors are the devices which gather energy and
Can combine RS Data Can’t combine convert it into a signal and present it in a form suitable for
Spatial Analysis is easy Difficult obtaining information about the objects.
Technology is cheap Costly Two types - 1.active sensor 2. Passive sensor
Large Data volumes Less Data volumes Active sensor- have got their own source of energy.
Loss of information No Loss Do not depend upon any external source of energy like
Less beautiful Beautiful Sun, fire, and electric bulbs.
Network Link Difficult Easy They work day and night, They are un-seasonal
Layer combination easy Difficult Ex- Radar Altimeter, Laser Scanner (Lidar),Imaging Radar
Sources of positional data-Field survey Passive sensor- works day time , ex Radiometer,
Photogrammetry ,Remote Sensing Thermal Scanner,
Digitization of cartographic documents Image Spectrometer, Aerial Photogrammetry
The characteristics of the sensor
The characteristics of the sensor depends on the
Resolutions of the sensor. There are 4 types of
Resolutions of the sensor.
They are
1. SPATIAL RESOLUTION
2. SPECTRAL RESOLUTION
3. RADIOMETRIC RESOLUTION
4. TEMPORAL RESOLUTION

SPATIAL RESOLUTION
Refer to the measure of the smallest object that can be
resolved by the sensor is called spatial Resolution.
It is also otherwise called as Instantaneous Field of View
(IFOV) which is the smallest area that can be sensed by
single detector of the Sensor.
2. SPECTRAL RESOLUTION
The specific wavelength intervals in the Electro-Magnetic
Spectrum( EMS) that a sensor can record.
Wider the intervals in the electromagnetic spectrum are
referred to as coarse spectral resolution and narrow the
bands as fine spectral resolution.
3. RADIOMETRIC RESOLUTION
The number of bits into which the recorded energy is
divided. For example, in 8 bit data, the DN values in the
file
range from 0 to 255 for any pixel. Where as in 7 bit data,
the DN values range from 0 to 127.
4. TEMPORAL RESOLUTION
It refers to how often a sensor revisits a geographical area
and records the data.
Applications of remote sensing
1.In the field of Geology2.Classification of Soil
3.Land cover planning4.Disaster management
5.Weather forecasting6.Military Intelligence
7.Detecting Iceberg 9.Potential to fishing zone
8.Detecting and extent of oil spills in the sea