INFORMATION PROCESSING OF REMOTE‐SENSING DATA
| Published date | 01 April 1987 |
| Pages | 295-302 |
| Date | 01 April 1987 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026812 |
| Author | P.A.M. BERRY,A.J. MEADOWS |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
THE
Journal
of Documentation
INFORMATION PROCESSING OF REMOTE-SENSING DATA
P.
A. M. BERRY
Astronomy
Department,
University
of
Leicester, Leicester,
LE1
7RH
A. J. MEADOWS
Department
of
Library and Information Studies
Loughborough
University,
Loughborough,
LE11
3TU
For some time past satellites have been orbiting the Earth and sending back images
of it to ground stations. These remote-sensing images are now accumulating in
large numbers: present plans for satellite launches indicate that the growth rate
will continue to rise further into the 1990s. In consequence, satellite remote-
sensing data are raising urgent questions concerning their efficient storage and
rapid retrieval. The experience of handling of remote-sensing images
is
likely to in-
fluence future developments in computer graphics information more generally.
We review here the current position regarding these problems and the steps being
taken to overcome them.
INTRODUCTION
REMOTE SENSING is the science of acquiring and interpreting information
about the Earth and its environment from measurements made without physical
contact. Remote sensing from space began with the launch of the first
meteorology satellite
Tiros-1.
Since then, the rapid development of space-related
technology has greatly increased knowledge in the Earth-based sciences, with
satellites carrying a wide variety of instruments to detect and record selectively
filtered radiation from the
visible,
infra-red, and microwave parts of the spectrum.
Image processing
is a
very important tool for the evaluation of remote-sensing im-
agery; because of the amounts of data involved, this can often only be done by us-
ing digital methods. Satellite remote-sensing images contain several hundred
megabits of information, and the amounts are increasing with each successive
generation of satellites being launched. For example, one LANDSAT-5 Thematic
Mapper image of a 185 x 185 km area contains
300
Mbytes of data. Satellites such
as SPOT have increased the rate of flow of high-resolution data, and the next
generation of satellites is expected to produce a further expansion in the quantity
and quality of information.
Journal of Documentation, Vol. 43, No. 4, December 1987, pp. 295-302.
295
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