Environment remote sensing

Remote Sensing is applied to various aspects of environment from atmosphere to biosphere to hydrosphere to lithosphere . The environment remote sensing consists application of Remote Sensing in all these spheres of environment .

The spheres where environment remote sensing is applied:

• • Agriculture: The environment remote sensing helps to detect the agricultural pattern of an area. The chlorophyll contained in the crops reflect differentially which helps to identify the crop types. However, groundwater conditions can also be known with the help of Remote Sensing which can be used for installing irrigation system.

• • Vegetation: Forest types, pattern of distribution, quantity of trees can be found out through environment remote sensing . This is done by recording reflectance from the chlorophyll found in the trees. The deciduous, coniferous, evergreen forest all varies in chlorophyll reflectance and thus can be identified very easily. If forest cover of any country is decreasing, it can be identified through environment remote sensing and the respective government of the country can take steps accordingly.

• • Land cover and land use: Application of environment remote sensing will easily detect the land cover which is the presence of vegetation, water bodies, fallow land, bared ground, rocky surface etc. The land use can be planned accordingly seeing the land cover map. Land use includes agricultural land, land for urban or rural settlement, sites for factory, sites for dams or barrages which can also be identified through environment remote sensing .

• • Water quality detection: Not only types of water bodies but also water quality can be monitored through environment remote sensing . Turbid water can easily be identified from clear water as their reflectance of radiation varies giving a yellowish appearance to the turbid water and bluish appearance to clear water. Temperatures of sea water can also be identified by environment remote sensing .

• • Atmospheric monitoring: The amount of pollutants or suspended particulate matter present in the environment can also be detected through environment remote sensing . Thus the government of any country can monitor the level of pollution and take suitable measures.

• • Geologic composition: Earth surface is made up of different rocks and the nature, composition and characteristics of these rock types varies greatly. So it is natural that the reflectance curve of these different rock types will appear differently. Thus geologic composition and characteristics of an area can be detected through environment remote sensing .

Economic use of environment remote sensing :

• • Fishing: Fish thrives more in water filled with planktons. These planktons have a different reflectance curve which helps to identify the presence of phytoplanktons in water. Fishing harbors can be developed in those areas as these places will have an abundance of fishes.
  • Resource management and monitoring: Through environment remote sensing resources of a country like the forest cover, the coal reserves, petroleum reserves etc. can be identified as well as monitored.

• • Mining sites: Since the geological composition of the country can be known from environment remote sensing , the areas of coal reserves, iron ore reserves, and other mineral reserves can easily be identified for constructing mines in future.

• • Dam construction: Dam can be constructed in places whose geology, water level and quality can be found out through environment remote sensing .

Thus environment remote sensing has truly a wide range of applications.