Basic of Remote Sensing III

Contents

• Advantages
• Limitations
• Applications

Advantages of Remote Sensing:

• Provides a synoptic view over a large region;
• Offers Geo-referenced information and digital information;
• Most of the remote sensors operate in every season, every day, every time and even in tough weather;

Limitations:

• Can be expensive;
• Can be technically difficult;
• Not direct;
• Measure surrogate variables e.g. reflectance (%), brightness temperature, backscatter;

Applications of Remote Sensing

• Urban & Regional Planning

Scope:

• Mapping & updation of city/town maps 
• Urban sprawl monitoring
• Town planning
• Facility management 
• GIS database development

Benefits:

• Better decision support, planning & management
• Rapid information updation
• Infrastructure development monitoring
• Spatial information analysis

• Agriculture

Scope:

• Crop acreage estimation
• Crop modeling for yield & production forecast / estimation
• Crop & Orchard monitoring
• Soil sensing
• Mapping of land management practices

Benefits:

• Timely availability of crop statistics for decision making & planning
• Crop growth monitoring
• Soil status monitoring
• Regular reports regarding total area under cultivation.

• Flood Damage to Standing Crops

• Natural Resource Management

1. Forestry: biodiversity, forest, deforestation
2. Water source management
3. Habitat analysis
4. Environmental assessment
5. Impervious surface mapping
6. Hydrology
7. Mineral province
8. Geomorphology

• Forestry

Scope:

• Satellite image-based forest resource mapping and updating
• Forest change detection
• Forest resource inventory
• GIS database development

Benefits:

• Availability of baseline information
• Planning for afforestation strategies 
• Futuristic resource planning
• Sustainability of the environment 
• Wildlife  conservation & development for recreation purpose
• Timely Intervention in specific areas as and when needed

• Landuse / Landcover Mapping

Scope:

• Monitoring dynamic changes
• Urban/Rural infrastructure 
• Waterlogging & salinity

Benefits:

• Assessment of spatial distribution of land resources 
• Infrastructure monitoring 
• Availability of usable land 
• Future planning for better land management for socio-economic development