Welcome to the Introduction to Global Change Class's

Remote Sensing Page

This remote sensing page includes:

• SECTION I: Links to Web-based Tutorials and Information to Learn about Remote Sensing
• SECTION II: Images of Global Change-Related Features
• SECTION III: Two Case Studies Using Satellite Images: SE ARIZONA & BRAZIL
• SECTION IV: Additional Case Studies Using Satellite Images

Please, do not copy any of these figures or images without seeing me first. Some of this material is copyrighted.

SECTION I: Links to Web-based Tutorials and Information to Learn about Remote Sensing

• Introduction to Remote Sensing Principles This site contains an overview of Remote Sensing Principles. It is technical in spots, but you should recognize many concepts we have already discussed in class.
• Introduction Lesson to Remote Sensing This intro is from a European internet course. Click on the items in the Table of Contents to get an introduction to some remote sensing concepts.
• Satellite Imagery FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) This FAQ contains lots of answers to questions about remote sensing from satellites.

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SECTION II: Images of Global Change-Related Features

Browse through these to see what kinds of features in the earth-atmosphere system can be remotely sensed. For more detailed information on some of the figures, see the "Atlas of Satellite Observatiosn Related to Global Change" available in lab.

1. Kliuchevskoi Volcano, Russia
2. Average monthly Global Albedo -- (earth surface and atmosphere; includes clouds) for January 1986 (in %)
3. Average monthly Global Clear-sky Albedo -- (earth surface) for January 1986 (in %)
4. Ozone Hole Images
5. Ozone Measurements Graph -- (a Dobson unit is a unit for measuring the total amount of ozone in a vertical column of the atmosphere above the earth's surface)
6. Weather Image (See current weather satellite images -- both visible and infrared -- at the "EARTHCAST" link)
7. East Coast North America Sea Surface Temperature (KEY: green tint = warmer, blue/purple tint = cooler)
8. El Niño Sea Surface Temperatures (centigrade)
9. New Orleans Radar Image -- (see class handout for definition of radar)
10. Flooded Manaus River, Brazil -- Also visit the Dartmouth Flood Observatory -- a site that does global flood monitoring with the aid of remote sensing.
11. Global NDVI -- (see class handout for definition of NDVI)
12. NDVI for Africa

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SECTION III: Two Case Studies Using Satellite Images: SE ARIZONA & BRAZIL

In this part of the exercise you will study images of southeastern Arizona and of Brazil. Your Discussion/Lab Handout lists the questions to be answered for these images.

• Infrared Image of Southeastern Arizona, -- Legend To aid in your interpretation, a "hard copy" of this image is available, along with a topographic map of the area.
• Rondonia, Brazil, 1975 and 1986 Images -- (see also the "Deforestation Poster" on the wall in the Global Change Computer Teaching Lab)
• Southern Rondonia Image
• Deforestation of the Amazon River Basin Statistics Table

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SECTION IV: Additional Case Studies Using Satellite Images

Choose any ONE of the images listed below to describe in an e-mail message to your TA. Be certain to click on the ``caption'' next to each image. The captions include summaries describing the images and list several DISCUSSION QUESTIONS. To get full credit for the assignment, you must answer: a) the discussion questions listed in the caption of your chosen image and b) provide the following information in items #1-#5:

1. The ground location of the image,
2. The type of image (i.e. infrared or radar),
3. The purpose of the image (e.g., to study deforestation in the Amazon River Basin),
4. What you thought was the most interesting feature in the image, and
5. What you learned from the image that you would not have been able to learn if you had been standing on the ground (or swimming in the water!) and viewing the region through only your eyes rather than looking down at this region from a high altitude.

Images to Choose From:

• African NDVI, -- caption
• Manaus River Flooding, Amazon River Basin, -- caption
• New Orleans Urbanization, -- caption
• Logging on Mt. Hood, Oregon, -- caption

When you have composed answers for the questions in the caption of your selected image and also have answered items #1-5 above, post these answers TO YOUR TA BY SENDING AN E-MAIL MESSAGE TO: jweltzin@ag.arizona.edu

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