An Overview of Remote Sensing

Remote Sensing is an extensive science, drawing from many areas for support and development. It depends greatly on the support of governments and private industries worldwide. Satellite and digital imagery play an important role in remote sensing; providing information about the land studied.
Remote Sensing Systems offer four basic components to measure and record data about an area from a distance. These components include the energy source, the transmission path, the target and the satellite sensor. The energy source, electromagnetic energy, is very important. It is the crucial medium required to transmit information from the target to the sensor.

Remote sensing provides important coverage, mapping and classification of landcover features, such as vegetation, soil, water and forests (diagram of spectral reflectance curves for vegetation, soil and water). The Kananaskis Valley has provided an environment for remote sensing studies, using satellite and digital imagery (from Landsat, SPOT and CASI).

The degree of accuracy achieved in classification depends on the quality of the images and the degree of knowledge possessed by the researcher, of the native types of species in the areas. Topographic data and a Digital Elevation Model also increase the classification accuracies. Correlations can then be drawn between drainage, surficial deposits and topographic features, in order to show the relationships that occur between forest, vegetation and soils. This provides important information for land classification and land-use management.

Remote sensing is an interesting and exploratory science, as it provides images of areas in a fast and cost-efficient manner, and attempts to demonstrate the "what is happening right now" in a study area. While airphotos and fieldwork remain critical as sources of information, the cost and time to carry out these methods sometimes may not be feasible for the study. Satellite and digital imagery acquired recently, provide more overall detail to assist the researcher in the classification process. Literature reviews and map interpretation are methods that can also be used for interpretation processes.

The benefits of remote sensing continue to arise. It can be used to access hard to reach areas for fieldwork, and provides a more detailed, permanent and objective survey that offers a different perspective. Airphotos are still favoured and easily accessible sources of information for classification.