HLS 6070 Research Paper

Remote Sensing Name: Institution: Course: Date: Remote sensing Over the years, there have been quite a number of inventions most of which have changed the course of history. Among the most influential inventions, technology takes the top spot. There have been developments that have people are able to interact with the environment and the elements in it. Most importantly, there is an aspect of understanding how the best one interacts with the environment. One such development is remote sensing. As the name suggests, this relates to remotely establishing the characteristics of the environment using technological equipment. Ideally, remote sensing is considered to be detecting and the aspect of monitoring physical characteristics of an area through measuring the reflected radiation from a distance from the target area. The technology involved revolves around using photography to collect information (Indiana University, 2016). While the data collection techniques are quite many, photography is the basis of remote sensing. There are quite a number of areas that have benefited from technology. Some of the areas include forestry, agriculture conservation efforts and survey. These are the areas that require the spatial analysis over large areas. As such, using remote sensing, it is possible for the technicians to review features in the images (Baumann, 2009). For example, where there are conservational efforts, it is easy for the analysts to establish the number the population of a given animal or the biomes of a given area over time (Kumar, 2014). Aspects such as establishing forest cover are made possible through the use remote sensing. Some of the major examples of applications include the cameras that are satellites along with airplanes, which are used to take images of the earth surface. This allows for more spatial analysis relative to the height that the images are taken. Sonar systems that are found on ships are also used to take images of the ocean floors without having to get to the bottom of the ocean (Indiana University, 2016). Cameras that are found on the satellites are also crucial for taking climate change images. History of remote sensing To understand the basics of remote sensing it is crucial to understand how the element of imaging into being (Bayhan, 2016). Remote sensing history can be traced back to the first time photography came into being, which was with the advent of the camera. The term photography is one that comes from two main words that are Greek; Phos which means light and Graphien which means writing. The idea of the camera can be traced back to the 1038 AD, when an Arabian mathematician helped understand the basics of a camera obscura when used to observe the sun eclipse (Bayhan, 2016). It is from this knowledge that the basics of a camera were then developed to what could then be used to capture images and store them. There are quite a number of scientists that made significant developments to the camera. One of them is being Leonardo da Vinci, who made it much easier to understand the principles behind the camera obscura in the year 1490 (Bayhan, 2016). Later on in the year 1550, Cirolama Cardano used optics on the camera to improve the quality of the pictures. In the year 1614, Angelo Sala made a discovery in which silver salts tend to darken when they exposed to sunlight (Bayhan, 2016). It was from this development that the element of capturing images using films that were coated with salts and then exposed to the sun, through the process of taking pictures. In 1666 Sir Isaac came up with the idea of using prisms to breakdown light into different colors and then to reconstruct white light. Ten years later Johann Christopher Sturn came up with the relax lens principle, by placing mirrors at 45 degrees to project an image, which then led to the single lens reflex camera. In 1777, however came one of the most crucial breaks through with the silver salts (Bayhan, 2016). Silver chromate darkens when exposed to light; this was an aspect that came to light when Carl Wilhelm Scheele used this approach and then rinsed off the material with ammonia. After washing off with ammonia, the parts that are unexposed form an image of whatever has been photographed. This is the same principle that was later adapted in the photographic film. It was not until 1839, that Gaguerre used polished silver plates and mercury vapor along with sodium thiosulfate to make permanent images. In the same year, William Henry Fox Talbot then came up with silver nitrate of silver chromate treated papers. These developments brought about the element of storing images that the photographers would take. They made it possible to capture a moment in time and present it on a different platform and time (Bayhan, 2016). It is then through these developments that idea of remote sensing was later on brought to light. However, it is crucial to mention that, remote sensing came with the element of flight. As flight mechanisms were developed, it was discovered that one could capture images from a height of the balloon. The first images that were taken from a balloon were at the height of 1200 feet in the air and were taken in the year 1858, by Gasper Felix Tournachon (Bayhan, 2016). These were images that were taken over Paris at the time. However, it was not until the 1860s when the technique was then adopted in the civilian use. Much of the technology had been used by the military in the civil war. Through the years, the art of aerial photography further developed to include the use pigeons in the early 1900s. They would be used in the transmission of messages and at the same time take aerial photos along their flight path. Over the years in the early 1900s, there were developments that mainly focused on the height that the images were taken at. In the 1930s, there were developments that led to improved heights that the cameras would take the images (Bayhan, 2016). Specifically, in the year, 1936, Albert W. Stevens made the first attempt to take photographs at the height of 72000 feet above the ground. It is these developments that shaped the Second World War. During the war, images of the enemy camps would help the military with the strategic attacks. From a safe height, the military would take images of the enemy camps to size up their strength and the areas that would best have the most impacts, when it came to attacks. Then came the application of aerial photography from space using the V-2 rockets in the year 1946. The 1950s and the 1960s brought on a new era, where aerial photography now involved the use of satellites to make records of the earth with reference to various aspects such as the weather and the climate and produce maps among others (Bayhan, 2016). Today, Google has made it easy for consumers to have applications on the phones that are able to use remote sensing to establish their location using satellites. Using computers and digital imagery technology that is used on the satellites, analysts in their various capacities are able to analyze images and make profound conclusions about whatever it is that they are studying. Using computer programs such as GIS, analysts are able to make analysis of patterns and monitor any changes in various spatial aspects (Bayhan, 2016). Remote sensing systems Remote sensing relates to using a sensor that is fixed on a platform such as a satellite or an aircraft and getting to detect and at the same time record radiation that is reflected from the earth’s surface. The sensor mechanisms are always varied and each one will have some distinct characteristics. The two main types of the sensors are the active sensors and the passive sensors. The active sensors are those that provide the source of illumination, whether attached to an aircraft or a satellite. This is a technique that is usually used where there is not enough or suitable natural source of radiation. On the other hand, passive sensors are used where there is a suitable natural source of radiation. This means that the illumination from the object of focus is independent from the sensor. It is crucial to consider the electromagnetic spectrum that remote works with. It is important to note that visible and near infrared wavelengths fall in the passive category. In this case the sun is the source of the irradiance that is being observed on the object of choice. As such the sensor will collect the irradiance that is coming from the object of choice. In the case of the active sensors, the aircraft or the satellite in question will carry a laser which is then shone on the object for it to reflect and give off information that can later be used by analysts to make conclusions. The thermal sensors also fall in the passive category as they use the thermal infrared wavelengths. However, there is a difference in the case, where the source of radiation is usually the object of interest. However, it is important to note that, there is not any form of irradiation, rather the sensors detect radiation from the object of interest. The magnetic spectrum ranges from the gamma rays which have a short wavelength and high frequency to the radio waves which have a...