Introduction to Remote Sensing

Principles of Image Interpretation

Dr. Arun K. Saraf,
Professor
Department of Earth Sciences

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 Principles of Image Interpretation

• Visual interpretation of satellite images is important

in Remote Sensing and GIS for different applications

• Visual interpretation is the skills that an image

interpreter apply equally to an image

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 Types of image data products
Depending on correction applied & level of processing
RS data products
RS data products

Photographic products such as Raw data: radiometrically and

paper prints, (black & white and geometrically uncorrected data
FCC - False color composite)
Standard data: radiometrically and
geometrically corrected data

Digital form Geocoded products:data: products are north

oriented and compatible to survey of India
mapsheet

Precision product: radiometrically and

geometrically corrected data with the use of
GCP to achieve greater locational accuracy
Making of
False
Colour
Composite
(FCC)
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 Image interpretation strategy
 Visual image interpretation : Process of indentifying what we
see on the images and communicate the information
obtained from these images to others for evaluating its
significance

 Includes relative locations and extents

 Use of data products like Satellite single band image, FCC for
performing image interpretations to extract thematic
information for subsequent input to GIS
 Levels of interpretation keys
• Interpretation Keys: Criterion for
identification of an object with interpretation
elements / keys
Basic elements / keys of image interpretation
X, Y location

Size

Shape

Shadow
Basic elements
Tone and Colour
of image
interpretation
Colour

Texture

Pattern

Height & Depth

Site, Situation & Association

 Location
There are two primary methods to obtain precise location in the
form of coordinates:
(a) survey in the field using traditional surveying techniques or
global positioning system instruments;
(b) collect remotely sensed data of the object, rectify the image
and then extract the desired coordinate information.
Most scientists use relatively inexpensive GPS instruments in the
field to obtain the desired location of an object.

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 Size
• The size of an object is one of the most distinguishing
characteristics and one of the more important elements of
interpretation.
• Most commonly, length, width and perimeter are measured.
To be able to do this successfully, it is necessary to know the
scale of the photo. Measuring the size of an unknown object
allows the interpreter to rule out possible alternatives.
• Most commonly measured parameters:- length, width,
perimeter, area and occasionally volume
 Shape
• Shape of an object is described as the geometric
form represented on an image
• Regular shapes are signs of man-made objects
• Irregular shapes with no distinct geometrical pattern
are signs of a natural environment
 Shadow
Generally remotely sensed data from polar orbiting satellites are
collected between 9:30-10:30 am to avoid extended shadows in the
image.

This is because shadows can obscure other objects that could

otherwise be identified.

On the other hand, the shadow cast by an object may be key to the
identity of another object.

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Shadow
 Take for example the Washington Monument
in Washington D.C. While viewing this from
above it can be difficult to discern the shape
of the monument, but with a shadow cast,
this process becomes much easier.

 It is good practice to orient the photos so

that the shadows are falling towards the
interpreter.
 A pseudoscopic illusion can be produced if
the shadow is oriented away from the
observer. This happens when low points
appear high and high points appear low.

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 Shadow
• Shadow gives height information about hill, towers, tall
buildings
 Shadow
N

N
 Tone and colour
• Band of EM spectrum recorded by RS system may be
displayed in shades of grey ranging from black to white

• Tone:-
– continuous grey scale varying from white to black
– It refers to relative brightness or colour of objects in an image
– Vegetation, water and bare soil reflect different proportions of
energy in the blue, green, red, and infrared portions of the
electro-magnetic spectrum.
– An interpreter can document the amount of energy reflected
from each at specific wavelengths to create a spectral signature.
 Tone and colour
• These signatures can help to understand why certain objects
appear as they do on black and white or colour imagery.
• These shades of grey are referred to as tone.
• The darker an object appears, the less light it reflects.
• Colour image is often preferred because, as opposed to shades
of grey (humans differentiate 40- 50 individual shades of grey)
whereas humans can detect thousands of different colours.
• Colour aids in the process of photo interpretation.
 Texture
• Characteristics placement & arrangement of repetitions of tone or
colour in an image
• Visual impression of roughness or smoothness of an image region

Pattern
• Pattern is the spatial arrangement of objects in the landscape. The
objects may be arranged randomly or systematically. They can be
natural, as with a drainage pattern of a river, or man-made.
• Typical adjectives used in describing pattern are: random, systematic,
circular, oval, linear, rectangular, and curvilinear to name a few.
 Site/Situation/Association
 Site has unique physical characteristics which might include
elevation, slope, and type of surface cover (e.g., grass, forest,
water, bare soil).

 Site can also have socioeconomic characteristics such as the

value of land or the closeness to water.

 Situation refers to how the objects in the an image are

organized and “situated” in respect to each other.

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 Site/Situation/Association
 Most power plants have materials and building associated in a fairly predictable
manner.

 Association refers to the fact that when you find a certain activity within a photo
or image, you usually encounter related or “associated” features or activities.

 Site, situation, and association are rarely used independent of each other when
analyzing an image.

 An example of this would be a large shopping mall. Usually there are multiple
large buildings, massive parking lots, and it is usually located near a major road
or intersection.

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N

0 4 km

IRS-LISS-II (27 February 1995) FCC (bands 432 in Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of the same
RGB scheme) area shown in the left image

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Identified
dam
locations
 Dam
Simulation
 Dam Dam axis
(m)
Perimeter
( km)
Waterlevel
(m amsl)
Dam
(m)
height

parameters
calculation 195 4.4 24 335 10-12 725

and
Landuse
mapping
THANKS

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