ABSTRACT
TOPEX/Poseidon (Jason-1 is the ¦rst of these) JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency JERS Japanese Earth Resources Satellite JPSS Joint Polar Satellite System KOMFOSAT Korean Multipurpose Satellite (data marketed
by SPOT Image) LANDSAT Land Remote Sensing Satellite LASER Light Ampli¦cation by Stimulated Emission
of Radiation LCCP Land cover characterization program LCT Laser communication terminal LIDAR Laser Image Detection and Ranging LISS Linear Imaging Self-Scanning Sensor (IRS) LRA Laser re©ectometry array LWIR Longwave infrared MERIS Medium-resolution imaging spectrometer METEOSAT Meteorological satellite by ESA MIR Mid-infrared MIRAS Microwave Imaging Radiometer with Aperture
Synthesis MISR Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer MLS Microwave Limb Scanner MODIS Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectro radiometer MOS Marine Observation Satellite MRLC Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics
Consortium MSS Multispectral scanner MTF Modular transfer function MTSAT Multipurpose transport satellite by JAXA NAIP National Agriculture Imagery Program NALC North American Landscape Characterization NAOS North American Atmospheric Observing
System NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research
(United States) NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NAPP National Aerial Photography Program NAWQA National Water Quality Assessment Program
(a USGS program) NCDC National Climatic Data Center nDSM Normalized digital surface model NDVI Normalized di§erence vegetation index NED National Elevation Dataset NEXRAD Next-Generation Radar
NHAP National High Altitude Program NIMA National Image and Mapping Agency NIR Near infrared NLCD National Land Cover Data NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration NPOESS National Polar-Orbiting Environmental
Satellite System NRCS National Resources Conservation Service
(a USDI agency) NRI National Resources Inventory NRSC National Remote Sensing Centre (United
Kingdom) NSSDC National Space Science Data Center NWS National Weather Service OCTS Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner OCX Operational Control System OSCAR Ocean Surface Current Analysis Real Time OSTM Ocean Surface Topography Mission PALSAR Phased Array-Type L-Band Synthetic
Aperture Radar PBS Public Broadcasting Service QuickBird Satellite from DigitalGlobe, a private com-
pany in United States RADAR Radio detection and ranging RADARSAT Canadian radar satellite RapidEye Satellite constellation from RapidEye, a
German company RESOURCESAT Satellite launched in India RGB Red, green, blue RKA Russian Federal Space Agency S/N Signal-to-noise ratio SAR Synthetic aperture radar SeaWiFS Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor SEVIRI Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared
Imager SIRS Satellite infrared spectrometer SLAR Side-looking airborne radar SODAR Sonic detection and ranging SONAR Sound navigation and ranging SPOT Systeme Probatoire D’Observation De La
Terre (France) SSM Special sensor microwave SSM/I Special sensor microwave/imager SSM/T Special sensor microwave/temperature SSM/T-2 Special sensor microwave/water vapor SSS Sea surface salinity SWIR Shortwave infrared sensor SST Sea surface temperature SWAT Soil and Water Assessment Tool TES Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer TIMS Ÿermal infrared multispectral scanner TIR Ÿermal infrared TM Ÿematic Mapper TOMS Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer
TOPEX Ocean Topography Experiment TOPSAR Topographic Synthetic Aperture Radar TRMM Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission UAS Unmanned aircra¬ system UAV Unmanned aerial vehicle UHF Ultrahigh frequency USGS United States Geological Survey UV Ultraviolet VIS Visible spectrum VMS Vessel monitoring system VNIR Visible near-infrared sensor WFOV Wide ¦eld of view WRS Worldwide Reference System X-SAR X-band synthetic aperture radar
Ÿe American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing de¦ned remote sensing as the measurement or acquisition of information of some property of an object or phenomenon, by a recording device that is not in physical or intimate contact with the object or phenomenon under study (Colwell et al., 1983). Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) in its geographic information system (GIS) dictionary de¦nes remote sensing as “collecting and interpreting information about the environment and the surface of the earth from a distance, primarily by sensing radiation that is naturally emitted or re©ected by the earth’s surface or from the atmosphere, or by sending signals transmitted from a device and re©ected back to it (ESRI, 2014).” Ÿe usual source of passive remote sensing data is the measurement of re©ected or transmitted electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from the sun across the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS); this can also include acoustic or sound energy, gravity, or the magnetic ¦eld from or of the objects under consideration. In this context, the simple act of reading this text is considered remote sensing. In this case, the eye acts as a sensor and senses the light re©ected from the object to obtain information about the object. It is the same technology used by a handheld camera to take a photograph of a person or a distant scenic view. Active remote sensing, however, involves sending a pulse of energy and then measuring the returned energy through a sensor (e.g., Radio Detection and Ranging [RADAR], Light Detection and Ranging [LiDAR]). Ÿermal sensors measure emitted energy by di§erent objects. Ÿus, in general, passive remote sensing involves the measurement of solar energy re©ected from the Earth’s surface, while active remote sensing involves synthetic (man-made) energy pulsed at the environment and the return signals are measured and recorded.
