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ADVANCED
REMOTE
SENSING
Terrestrial Information Extraction and
Applications
SECOND EDITION
Edited by
Shunlin Liang
University of Maryland
Jindi Wang
Beijing Normal University
Academic Press is an imprint of Elsevier
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This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other than as may be
noted herein).
Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding,
changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.
Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information,
methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their
own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.
To the fullest extent of the law, neither the Publisher nor the authors, contributors, or editors, assume any liability for any injury
and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of
any methods, products, instructions, or ideas contained in the material herein.
Yuqi Bai Center for Earth System Science, Tsinghua Cuicui Dou Nanjing Institute of Geography and
University, Beijing 100084, China, yuqibai@ Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East
tsinghua.edu.cn Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China; School of
Jinshan Cao Collaborative Innovation Center for Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University,
Geospatial Technology, Wuhan University, 129 Nanjing, China, [email protected]
Luoyu Road, Wuhan 430079, China, caojin- Jinyang Du Numerical Terradynamic Simulation
[email protected] Group, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Con-
Erxue Chen Institute of Forest Resources Informa- servation, The University of Montana, Missoula,
tion Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, MT 59812, USA, [email protected]
Dongxiaofu No. 2, Xiangshan Road, Beijing Wenjie Fan Institute of RS and GIS, Peking Univer-
100091, China, [email protected], chenerx@ sity, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing 100871, China,
ifrit.ac.cn [email protected]
Jun Chen State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Hongliang Fang Institute of Geographic Sciences
Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal Uni- and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy
versity and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China,
Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Xinjie- [email protected]
kouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China; Beijing En- Yi Fang School of Remote Sensing and Information
gineering Research Center for Global Land Remote Engineering, Wuhan University, 129 Luoyu Road,
Sensing Products, Institute of Remote Sensing Sci- Wuhan 430079, China, [email protected]
ence and Engineering, Faculty of Geographical Sci-
Qiaoni Fu Nanjing Institute of Geography and
ence, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai
Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East
Street, Beijing 100875, China, [email protected]
Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China; School of
Jie Cheng State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University,
Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal Uni- Nanjing, China
versity and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital
Shuai Gao Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital
Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Xinjie-
Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
kouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China; Beijing En-
100101, China, [email protected]
gineering Research Center for Global Land Remote
Sensing Products, Institute of Remote Sensing Sci- Zhan Gao Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing
ence and Engineering, Faculty of Geographical Sci- Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing
ence, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai 100875, China, [email protected]
Street, Beijing 100875, China, Jie_Cheng@ Ruifang Guo Nanjing Institute of Geography and
bnu.edu.cn Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East
Robert E. Dickinson Department of Geological Sci- Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China, gr120206@
ences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, 126.com
TX 78712, USA, [email protected]
ix
x Contributors of the second edition
Tao He School of Remote Sensing and Information Shunlin Liang Department of Geographical Sci-
Engeering, Wuhan University, Luoyu Road No. ences, Univsersity of Maryland, College Park MD
129, Wuhan 430079, China, [email protected] 20742, USA, [email protected]
Wenli Huang School of Resource and Environ- Ming Lin Tsinghua University, MengMinWei Sci-
mental Sciences, Wuhan University, 129 Luoyu tech Building, S912, Beijing 100084, China, tj_linm-
Road, Wuhan 430079, China, wenli.huang@ [email protected]
whu.edu.cn Qiang Liu State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing
Shunping Ji School of Remote Sensing and Informa- Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal Uni-
tion Engineering, Wuhan University, 129 Luoyu versity and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital
Road, Wuhan 430079, China, Jishunping2000@ Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Xinjie-
163.com kouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China; College of
Kun Jia State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Sci- Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing
ence, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal Univer- Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing
sity and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital 100875, China, [email protected]
Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Xinjie- Suhong Liu Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing
kouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China; Beijing En- Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing
gineering Research Center for Global Land Remote 100875, China, [email protected]
Sensing Products, Institute of Remote Sensing Sci- Yaokai Liu Academy of Opto-Electronics, Chinese
ence and Engineering, Faculty of Geographical Sci- Academy of Science, Beijing 100094, China, liuyk@
ence, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai aoe.ac.cn
Street, Beijing 100875, China, [email protected]
Yuanbo Liu Nanjing Institute of Geography and
Bo Jiang State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East
Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal Uni- Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China, ybliu@
versity and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital niglas.ac.cn
Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Xinjie-
Yufu Liu Tsinghua University, MengMinWei Sci-
kouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China; Beijing En-
tech Building, S917, Beijing 100084, China,
gineering Research Center for Global Land Remote
[email protected]
Sensing Products, Institute of Remote Sensing Sci-
ence and Engineering, Faculty of Geographical Sci- Qian Ma State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Pro-
ence, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai cesses and Resource Ecology, College of Global
Street, Beijing 100875, China, [email protected] Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal
University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875,
Lingmei Jiang State Key Laboratory of Remote
China, [email protected]
Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing
Normal University and Institute of Remote Yuna Mao State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface
Sensing and Digital Earth of Chinese Academy of Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Global
Sciences, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal
China; Beijing Engineering Research Center for University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875,
Global Land Remote Sensing Products, Institute of China, [email protected]
Remote Sensing Science and Engineering, Faculty Xiangcheng Meng Faculty of Geographical Science,
of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street,
19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China, Beijing 100875, China, [email protected]
[email protected] Xihan Mu State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing
Zengyuan Li Institute of Forest Resources Informa- Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal Uni-
tion Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, versity and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital
Dongxiaofu No. 2, Xiangshan Road, Beijing, Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Xinjie-
100091, China kouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China; Beijing En-
gineering Research Center for Global Land Remote
Contributors of the second edition xi
Sensing Products, Institute of Remote Sensing Sci- Beijing Engineering Research Center for Global
ence and Engineering, Faculty of Geographical Sci- Land Remote Sensing Products, Institute of Remote
ence, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Sensing Science and Engineering, Faculty of
Street, Beijing 100875, China, [email protected] Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University,
Wenjian Ni Institute of remote sensing and digital 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China,
earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, A20 north, [email protected]
Datun road, Beijing 100101, China, [email protected] Wanjuan Song State Key Laboratory of Remote
Zheng Niu Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing
Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Bei- Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing
jing, China, [email protected] and Digital Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences,
19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China;
Jinmei Pan State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing
Beijing Engineering Research Center for Global
Science, Jointly Sponsored by the Institute of
Land Remote Sensing Products, Institute of Remote
Remote Sensing and Digital Earth of Chinese Acad-
Sensing Science and Engineering, Faculty of
emy of Sciences and Beijing Normal University,
Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University,
100101 Beijing, China, [email protected]
19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China, song-
Yong Pang Institute of Forest Resources Information [email protected]
Techniques, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Dong-
Guoqing Sun Department of Geographical Sciences,
xiaofu No. 2, Xiangshan Road, Beijing, 100091,
Univsersity of Maryland, College Park MD 20742,
China, [email protected]
USA, [email protected]
Jingjing Peng Earth System Science Interdisci-
Wanxiao Sun Department of Geography and Sus-
plinary Center, University of Maryland, College
tainable Planning, Grand Valley State University,
Park 20740 MD, USA, [email protected]
1 Campus Drive, Allendale, MI 49401-9403, USA,
Ying Qu School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast [email protected]
Normal University, Changchun 130024, China,
Xin Tao Department of Geography, The State Uni-
[email protected]
versity of New York, Buffalo, NY 14261, USA, xin-
Yonghua Qu State Key Laboratory of Remote [email protected]
Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing
Xinpeng Tian CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Envi-
Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing
ronmental Processes and Ecological Remediation,
and Digital Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese
19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China;
Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, China,
Beijing Engineering Research Center for Global
[email protected]
Land Remote Sensing Products, Institute of Remote
Sensing Science and Engineering, Faculty of Dongdong Wang Department of Geographical Sci-
Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, ences, Univsersity of Maryland, College Park MD
19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China, 20742, USA, [email protected]
[email protected] Haoyu Wang Faculty of Geographical Science, Bei-
Jiancheng Shi State Key Laboratory of Remote jing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Bei-
Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by the Institute jing 100875, China, [email protected]
of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth of Chinese Jindi Wang State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing
Academy of Sciences and Beijing Normal Univer- Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal Uni-
sity, 100101 Beijing, China, [email protected] versity and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital
Jinling Song State Key Laboratory of Remote Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Xinjie-
Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing kouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China; Beijing En-
Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing gineering Research Center for Global Land Remote
and Digital Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sensing Products, Institute of Remote Sensing
19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China; Science and Engineering, Faculty of Geographical
xii Contributors of the second edition
Science, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou- Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University,
wai Street, Beijing 100875, China, wangjd@ 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China,
bnu.edu.cn [email protected]
Kaicun Wang State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Feng Yang State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing
Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Global Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal Uni-
Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal versity and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital
University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Xinjie-
China, [email protected] kouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China; Beijing En-
Wenhui Wang I.M. Systems Group at NOAA/NES- gineering Research Center for Global Land Remote
DIS/STAR, 5200 Auth Road, Camp Springers, MD Sensing Products, Institute of Remote Sensing Sci-
20746, USA, [email protected] ence and Engineering, Faculty of Geographical Sci-
ence, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai
Zhigang Wang China Center for Resource Satellite
Street, Beijing 100875, China, yftaurus@
Data and Applications, No. 5, Fengxian East Road,
mail.bnu.edu.cn
Beijing 100094, China, [email protected]
Wenping Yuan School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun
Jianguang Wen Institute of Remote Sensing and
Yat-sen University. No. 135, Xingang Xi Road,
Digital Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Guangzhou 510275, China, [email protected]
Beijing 100101, China, [email protected]
Xiuxiao Yuan School of Remote Sensing and Infor-
Guiping Wu Nanjing Institute of Geography and
mation Engineering, Wuhan University, 129 Luoyu
Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing
Road, Wuhan 430079, China, [email protected]
210008, China, [email protected]
Quan Zhang Faculty of Geographical Science, Bei-
Zhiqiang Xiao State Key Laboratory of Remote
jing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Bei-
Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing
jing 100875, China, [email protected]
Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing
and Digital Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiaotong Zhang State Key Laboratory of Remote
19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China; Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing
Beijing Engineering Research Center for Global Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing
Land Remote Sensing Products, Institute of Remote and Digital Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Sensing Science and Engineering, Faculty of 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China;
Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing Engineering Research Center for Global
19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China, Land Remote Sensing Products, Institute of Remote
[email protected] Sensing Science and Engineering, Faculty of
Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University,
Chuan Xiong Southwest Jiaotong University,
19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China,
Chengdu 611756, China, [email protected]
[email protected]
Chunyan Yan China University of Geosciences, Bei-
Zhiyu Zhang Institute of remote sensing and digital
jing, 29 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, China,
earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, A20 north,
[email protected]
Datun road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101,
Guangjian Yan State Key Laboratory of Remote China, [email protected]
Sensing Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing
Peisheng Zhao George Mason University, 4400 Uni-
Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing
versity Drive, MSN 6E1, George Mason University,
and Digital Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Fairfax, VA 22030, USA, [email protected]
19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China;
Beijing Engineering Research Center for Global Xiang Zhao State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing
Land Remote Sensing Products, Institute of Remote Science, Jointly Sponsored by Beijing Normal Uni-
Sensing Science and Engineering, Faculty of versity and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital
Contributors of the second edition xiii
Earth of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Xinjie- Yi Zheng School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-
kouwai Street, Beijing 100875, China; Beijing En- sen University. No. 135, Xingang Xi Road, Guangz-
gineering Research Center for Global Land Remote hou 510275, China, [email protected]
Sensing Products, Institute of Remote Sensing Sci- Shugui Zhou Faculty of Geographical Science, Bei-
ence and Engineering, Faculty of Geographical Sci- jing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street, Bei-
ence, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai jing 100875, China, [email protected]
Street, Beijing 100875, China, zhaoxiang@
Xiufang Zhu Institute of Remote Sensing Science
bnu.edu.cn
and Engineering, Faculty of Geographical Science,
Xiaosong Zhao Nanjing Institute of Geography and Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekouwai Street,
Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing 100875, China, [email protected]
Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China, xszhao@
niglas.ac.cn
Foreword to the first edition
xv
Preface to the first edition
As the technology of remote sensing has from their research expertise. Although this is an
advanced over the last two decades, the scientific edited volume with multiple authors, it is well
potential of the data that it produces has greatly designed and integrated. The editors and au-
improved. To better serve society’s needs, the thors have made great efforts to ensure the con-
immense amounts of aggregated satellite data sistency and integrity of the text.
need to be transferred into high-level products In addition to the introductory chapter, this
in order to improve the predictive capabilities book consists of five parts: (1) data processing
of global and regional models at different scales methods and techniques; (2) estimation of land-
and to aid in decision making through various surface radiation budget components; (3) estima-
decision support systems. A general trend is tion of biophysical and biochemical variables;
that the data centers are distributing more (4) estimation of water cycle components; and
high-level products rather than simply the raw (5) high-level product generation and applica-
satellite imagery. tion demonstrations. The titles and authors of
An increasing number of researchers from a the individual chapters are as follows:
diverse set of academic and scientific disciplines
are now routinely using remotely sensed data
products, and the mathematical and physical so- Chapters Titles Authors
phistication of the techniques used to process 1 A Systematic View of S. Liang, J. Wang, B.
and analyze these data have increased consider- Remote Sensing Jiang
ably. As a result, there is an urgent need for a
PART 1 Data Processing Methods and Techniques
reference book on the advanced methods and al-
gorithms that are now available for extracting in- 2 Geometric Processing X. Yuan, S. Ji, J. Cao, X.
and Positioning Yu
formation from the huge volume of remotely Techniques
sensed data, which are often buried in various
journals and other sources. Such a book should 3 Compositing, Z. Xiao
Smoothing, and Gap-
be highly quantitative and rigorously technical; Filling Techniques
at the same time, it should be accessible to stu-
dents at the upper undergraduate and first- 4 Data Fusion J. Zhang, J. Yang
year graduate student level. 5 Atmospheric Correction X. Zhao, X. Zhang, S.
To meet this critical demand, we have identi- of Optical Imagery Liang
fied and organized a group of active research sci- Continued
entists to contribute chapters and sections drawn
xvii
xviii Preface to the first edition
(cont'd) (cont'd)
PART 2 Estimation of Surface Radiation Budget 20 Snow Water L. Jiang, J. Du, L. Zhang,
Components Equivalence J. Shi, J. Pan, C. Xiong
6 Incident Solar Radiation X. Zhang, S. Liang 21 Water Storage Y. Liu, P. Song
7 Broadband Albedo Q. Liu, J. Wen, Y. Qu, T. PART 5 Production Generation and Application
He, X. Zhang Demonstrations
8 Land-Surface J. Cheng, H. Ren 22 High-Level Land D. Wang
Temperature and Product Integration
Thermal Infrared
23 Production and Data S. Liu, X. Zhao
Emissivity
Management Systems
9 Surface Longwave W. Wang
24 Land-Cover and Land- X. Zhu, S. Liang, B.
Radiation Budget
Use Changes Jiang
PART 3 Estimation of Biophysical and Biochemical
Variables
10 Canopy Biochemical Z. Niu, C. Yan
Chapter 1 presents introductory material and
Characteristics provides an overview of the book. From the sys-
tem perspective, it briefly describes the essential
11 Leaf Area Index H. Fang, Z. Xiao, Y. Qu,
J. Song
components of the remote-sensing system,
ranging from platforms and sensors, modeling
12 Fraction of Absorbed W. Fan, X. Tao approaches, and information extraction methods
Photosynthetically
Active Radiation by
to applications.
Green Vegetation Part 1 includes four chapters on data process-
ing. Chapter 2 is the only chapter that presents
13 Fractional Vegetation G. Yan, X. Mu, Y. Liu
Cover
the methods and techniques for handling geo-
metric properties of remotely sensed data. These
14 Vegetation Height and G. Sun, Y. Pang, W. Ni, include the calibration of systematic errors, geo-
Vertical Structure W. Huang, Z. Li
metric correction, geometric registration, digital
15 Above-Ground Biomass G. Sun, W. Sun, S. terrain model generation, and digital ortho-
Liang, Z. Zhang, E. image generation.
Chen
Chapter 3 seeks to reconstruct spatial and
16 Vegetation Production W. Yuan, Z. Chen temporal continuous high-quality imagery. As
in Terrestrial the temporal resolution of satellite observations
Ecosystems
greatly increases, images are more often contam-
PART 4 Estimation of Water Balance Components inated by clouds and aerosols that partially or
17 Precipitation Y. Liu, Q. Fu, X. Zhao, completely block the surface information. Two
C. Dou groups of techniques are presented. The first
18 Terrestrial K. Wang. R. Dickinson,
group deals with composite methods for aggre-
Evapotranspiration Q. Ma gating the fine temporal resolution (say, daily)
to the coarse resolution (say, weekly or
19 Soil Moisture Contents S. Liang, B. Jiang, T. He,
X. Zhu
monthly), and the second discusses smoothing
and gapfilling methods to eliminate the impacts
Preface to the first edition xix
of clouds and aerosols at the same temporal include leaf area index (LAI) in Chapter 11, the
resolution. fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active
Chapter 4 introduces the basic principles and radiation by green vegetation (FPAR) in Chapter
methods of data fusion for integrating multiple 12, fractional vegetation cover in Chapter 13,
data sources on the pixel basis, which have vegetation height and vertical structure in Chap-
different spatial resolutions, and are acquired ter 14, above-ground biomass in Chapter 15, and
from different spectra (optical, thermal, micro- vegetation production in terms of gross primary
wave). This chapter focuses mainly on low-level production (GPP) and net primary production
data products. (The methods for integrating (NPP) in Chapter 16. Various inversion methods
high-level products are introduced in Chapter 22.) are introduced in this part, including optimiza-
Chapter 5 introduces methods for correcting tion methods (Section 11.3.2), neural networks
the atmospheric effects of aerosols and water (Sections 11.3.3, 13.3.3 and 15.3.4), genetic algo-
vapor on the optical imagery. Other atmospheric rithms (Section 11.3.4), Bayesian networks (Sec-
correction methods are discussed in Chapter 8 tion 11.3.5), regression tree methods (Section
for thermal-IR data and in Part 4 for microwave 13.3.3), data assimilation methods (Section 11.4)
data. and look-up table methods (Section 11.3.6). Part
Part 2 focuses on estimation of surface radia- 3 also discusses multiple data sources besides op-
tion budget components. The surface radiation tical imagery, such as Synthetic Aperture Radar
budget is characterized by all-wave net radiation (SAR) and Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar),
(Rn) that is the sum of shortwave (Sn) and long- and polarimetric InSAR data.
wave (Ln) net radiation Part 4 is on estimation of water balance com-
ponents. A general water balance equation is
Rn ¼ Sn þ Ln ¼ ðsY s[Þ þ ðLY L[Þ
expressed by:
¼ ð1 aÞSY þ ðLY L[Þ
P ¼ Q þ E þ DS
where SY is the downward shortwave radiation
(discussed in Chapter 6), S[ is the upward short- where P is precipitation (discussed in Chapter
wave radiation, a is the surface shortwave al- 17), Q is runoff that is currently difficult to esti-
bedo (discussed in Chapter 7), LY is the mate from remote sensing, E is evapotranspira-
downward longwave radiation, and L[ is the tion (discussed in Chapter 18), and DS is the
upward longwave radiation. Longwave net radi- change in storage to which three chapters are
ation (Ln) can be also calculated by related: soil moisture in Chapter 19, snow water
equivalence in Chapter 20, and surface water
Ln ¼ εLY εsTs4 storage in Chapter 21. In addition to optical
where s is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, ε is and thermal data, microwave data are dealt
surface thermal broadband emissivity, and Ts is with extensively in all chapters except in Chapter
surface skin temperature. Estimation of ε and 18. The gravity data with the GRACE data are
Ts is discussed in Chapter 8, and LY and Ln are also briefly introduced in Chapter 21.
covered in Chapter 9. Part 5 deals with high-level product genera-
Part 3 focuses on the estimation of biochem- tion, integration, and application. Chapter 22
ical and biophysical variables of plant canopy. presents different methods for integrating high-
Chapter 10 introduces the various methods for level products of the same variable (e.g., LAI)
estimating plant biochemical variables, such as that may be generated from different satellite
chlorophyll, water, protein, lignin and cellulose. data or different inversion algorithms. The data
The biophysical variables discussed in this book fusion methods for integrating low-level
xx Preface to the first edition
Since the first edition of this book was pub- for sharing, processing, archiving, and dissemi-
lished in 2012, the field of remote sensing has nating the massive size of remotely sensed data.
experienced extensive growth and development. The processing and analysis can be greatly
An updated text that examines and describes in enhanced by using a massive number of
detail this growth is now needed. computing nodes through high-performance
There are several remarkable trends. The first computing and high-throughput computing
trend is the steadily increasing volume of techniques.
remotely sensed data, driven by the growing Another trend is the generation of long-term
number of satellites with higher spatial and tem- consistent high-level satellite products that can
poral resolutions. For example, DigitalGlobe’s be used directly by users for a variety of applica-
satellite fleet currently generates 80TB per day tions. The creation of long-term high-level land
of images. The constellations of smaller satellites, products leverages off the advantages of multi-
mostly operated by the commercial sector, source remote sensing data. It started from the
provide high spatial and temporal resolutions NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) program
imagery. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), in late 1980s. One of the product suites exten-
platforms, and associated sensing technologies sively discussed in this book is the Global Land
are now also collecting huge amounts of data Surface Satellite (GLASS) products, which are
for use in a variety of applications in a cost- being distributed free of charge through the
effective manner. China National Data Sharing Infrastructure of
The second trend is the widespread applica- Earth System Science (http://www.geodata.
tion of machine learning techniques that trans- cn/thematicView/GLASS.html) and the Univer-
form raw satellite observations into the values sity of Maryland (www.glass.umd.edu). The
of various bio/geophysical variables. These GLASS products have some unique features,
methods, such as artificial neural network, one of which is long-term time series (from
support vector regression, random forest, and 1981 to present). Considerable efforts are also be-
multivariate adaptive regression splines, are often ing made by the remote sensing community to
based on extensive simulations of different radia- develop the Climate Data Records (CDR)
tive transfer models. defined as the time series of measurements of
The third trend has been the gradual adapta- sufficient length, consistency, and continuity to
tion of cloud computing. It is essential to develop determine climate variability and change by
an infrastructure that connects global remotely the US National Research Council.
sensed data collected and managed by various To incorporate state-of-the-art development
agencies and data centers located throughout of land remote sensing, this new book provides
the world. It will be a cost-effective approach a major revision of the first edition by presenting
xxi
xxii Preface to the second edition
1
A systematic view of remote sensing
O U T L I N E
1.1 Introduction
We are living in a world where population is
rapidly increasing, depleting natural resources,
and experiencing the possible consequences of
human-induced climate change. Our ability to
meet these challenges partially depends on how
well we understand the Earth system and use
that information to guide our actions. Remote
sensing is a tremendous source of information
needed by policy-makers, resource managers,
forecasters, and other users, and it has become
increasingly vital for the effective and sustainable
future management of the Earth. A remote
sensing system consists of instrumentation, pro-
cessing, and analysis designed to measure,
monitor, and predict the physical, chemical, and
biological aspects of the Earth system. Sophisti-
cated new technologies have been developed to
gather vast quantities of data, and the mathemat-
ical and physical sophistication of the techniques
used to process and analyze the observed data
has increased considerably.
The first chapter of the book aims to link
diverse components to paint a full picture of a
remote sensing system as illustrated in Fig. 1.1.
It starts with a brief introduction to the platform FIGURE 1.1 Key components of the remote sensing
and sensor system for acquiring data and then system.
1.2 Platform and sensor systems 3
1.2 Platform and sensor systems The satellite appears motionless at a fixed posi-
tion in the sky to ground observers. There are
The data acquisition system mainly consists of several hundred communication satellites and
the sensor and the platform on which the sensor several meteorological satellites in such an orbit.
resides. The platform may be on the surface, in Fig. 1.2 illustrates a few typical meteorological
the air, or in space. A surface platform may be satellites in the geostationary orbit relative to
a ladder, tower, cherry picker, crane, building, the polar-orbiting satellites.
or scaffolding that provides data used primarily US operational weather satellites include the
for validation. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satel-
Aerial platforms include aircraft and balloons. lite (GOES) used for short-range warning and
Unmanned aerial systems (UAS), commonly “now-casting” primarily to support the National
known as a drone, have considerable potential Weather Service requirements. The procure-
to radically improve Earth observation by ment, design, and manufacturing of GOES are
providing high spatial detail over relatively large overseen by the National Aeronautics and Space
areas in a cost-effective way and an entirely new Administration (NASA), while all operations of
capacity for enhanced temporal retrieval the satellites once in orbit are effected by the
(Manfreda et al., 2018). In addition to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-
increasing availability of UAS and affordability, tion (NOAA). Before being launched, GOES
recent advances in sensor technologies and satellites are designated by letters (-A, -B, -C).
analytical capabilities have stimulated an explo- Once a GOES satellite is launched successfully,
sion of interest from the remote sensing commu- it is redesignated with a number (1, 2, 3).
nity. Increasing miniaturization allows Normally two GOES satellites are operational.
multispectral, hyperspectral, and thermal imag- Information on the GOES series is shown in
ing, as well as synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) Table 1.1. The third generation of GOES, the
and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensing new GOES-R satellite series program, consisting
to be conducted from UAS. of four satellites (from GOES-16), represents a
Spaceborne platforms are mainly satellites significant improvement in spatial, temporal,
and space shuttles. As the landmark of space- and spectral observations over the capabilities
borne remote sensing, Landsat 1 was launched of the previously operational GOES series. For
in 1972. Since then, there have been over 50 example, the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI)
countries operating land remote sensing satel- is the primary instrument on the GOES-R Series
lites. The Committee on Earth Observation Satel- for imaging Earth’s weather, oceans, and envi-
lites (CEOS) database (http://database. ronment. The ABI provides three times more
eohandbook.com/database/missiontable.aspx) spectral information, four times the spatial reso-
lists the current and future satellite missions and lution, and more than five times faster temporal
sensors. The following will mainly discuss the coverage than the previous system.
satellite remote sensing. European operational missions are currently
operated by the European Organization for the
Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
(EUMETSAT). EUMETSAT’s geostationary
1.2.1 Geostationary satellites satellite programs include the Meteosat First
A geostationary satellite is in an orbit that can Generation system (up to Meteosat-7) from
only be achieved at an altitude very close to 1977 to 2017, four Meteosat Second Generation
35,786 km (22,236 miles) and which keeps the (MSG) satellites (MSG-1,2,3,4 or Meteosat-
satellite fixed over one longitude at the equator. 8,9,10,11) from 2004 to 2025, and six Meteosat
4 1. A systematic view of remote sensing
FIGURE 1.2 Illustration of the distribution of a few common geostationary satellites compared to the polar-orbiting
satellites.
Third Generation (MTG) satellites from 2021 to are located in orbit at around 140.7 degrees east
39. The MSG satellites carry an impressive pair and will observe the East Asia and Western
of instruments: the Spinning Enhanced Visible Pacific regions for a period of 15 years. The
and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI), which has the ca- Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), similar to
pacity to observe the Earth in 12 spectral chan- ABI, has six channel multispectral bands in the
nels and provide image data every half hour, visible to near-infrared spectrum with 500m
and the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget spatial resolution and provides full disk observa-
(GERB) instrument supporting climate studies. tions every 10 min and images of Japan every
The Japanese Geostationary Meteorological 2.5 min.
Satellite (GMS) series had five satellites from China has launched eight of the first-
1977. The Multifunctional Transport Satellites generation geostationary satellites named Fen-
(MTSAT) are the successors to the GMS 1e5 sat- gyun (FY-2) from FY-2A to FY-2H since 1997.
ellite series. The MTSAT-2 from 2010 was also The second generation of geostationary meteoro-
known as Himawari-7. Himawari-8 was opera- logical satellites FY-4 was launched in December
tional from July 2015, and Himawari-9 started 2016, and multiple FY-4 satellites have been
backup operation on March 2017. Both satellites planned to provide service through 2037 when
1.2 Platform and sensor systems 5
TABLE 1.1 Information on GOES satellite series. 1.2.2 Polar-orbiting satellites
Satellites Launch day Status Polar-orbiting satellites can provide an obser-
1 October 16, Decommissioned
vational platform for the entire Earth surface,
1975 while their geostationary counterparts are limited
to approximately 60 degrees of latitude of geosta-
2 June 16, 1977 Decommissioned
tionary meteorological satellites at a fixed point
3 June 16, 1978 Decommissioned over the Earth. Polar-orbiting satellites are able
4 September 9, Decommissioned to circle the globe approximately once every
1978 100 min. Most polar-orbiting Earth observation
5 May 22, 1981 Deactivated on July 18, 1990
satellites, such as Terra, ENVISAT, and Landsat,
have an altitude of about 800 km. They are in
6 April 28, 1983 Decommissioned sun-synchronous orbits passing directly over a
G May 3, 1986 Failed to orbit given spot on the ground at the same local time.
7 February 26, Used as a communications
A relatively low orbit allows detection and collec-
1987 satellite; decommissioned 2012 tion of data by instruments aboard a polar-
orbiting satellite at a higher spatial resolution
8 April 13, 1994 Decommissioned 2004
than from a geostationary satellite.
9 May 23, 1995 Decommissioned 2007 NASA has launched a series of polar-orbiting
10 April 25, 1997 Decommissioned 2009 satellite missions with the ability to characterize
the current state of the Earth system. The
11 May 3, 2000 Decommissioned 2011
currently active satellites are illustrated in
12 July 23, 2001 Decommissioned 2013 Fig. 1.3. All the missions fall into three types:
13 May 24, 2006 On-orbit storage exploratory, operational precursor and technol-
ogy demonstration, and systematic.
14 June 27, 2009 On-orbit spare
Exploratory missions are designed to yield
15 March 4, 2010 Operational West backup new scientific breakthroughs. Each exploratory
16 November 19, Currently operating as GOES satellite project is expected to be a one-time
(GOES-R) 2016 East mission that can deliver conclusive scientific
17 March 1, 2017 Currently operating as GOES
results addressing a focused set of scientific
(GOES-S) West questions. In some cases, an exploratory mission
may focus on a single pioneering measurement
GOES-T Planned to
launch in 2020
that opens a new window on the behavior of
the Earth system. These missions are managed
GOES-U Planned to in the NASA Earth System Science program
launch in 2024
(ESSP). Examples include the Gravity Recovery
and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and Cloud-
SAT. GRACE data can be used for estimating
a successor program will be inaugurated. The soil moisture and surface/underground water
Advanced Geosynchronous Radiation Imager (Section 20.4).
(AGRI) aboard FY-4 is the corresponding version Operational precursor and technology
of ABI in the GOES-R series. It has 14 spectral demonstration missions enable major upgrades
bands, delivering full disk images every 15 min of existing operational observing systems.
at a significantly improved resolution of NASA is investing in innovative sensor technol-
0.5e4 km. ogies and developing more cost-effective
6 1. A systematic view of remote sensing
FIGURE 1.3 Illustration of the current NASA Earth observing satellites, downloaded from https://eospso.gsfc.nasa.gov/
in February 2019.
versions of its pioneer scientific instruments that centerpiece of NASA’s recent Earth observation
can be used effectively by operational agencies. program. It was conceived in the 1980s and
An example is the NMP EO-1 (New Millennium began to take shape in the early 1990s. It is
Program Earth Observing-1) mission launched composed of a series of satellites and sensors, a
on November 21, 2000, which includes three science component, and a data system support-
advanced land imaging sensors and five revolu- ing a coordinated series of polar-orbiting and
tionary crosscutting spacecraft technologies. The low inclination satellites for long-term global ob-
three sensors led to a new generation of lighter servations of the land surface, biosphere, solid
weight, higher performance, and lower cost Earth, atmosphere, and oceans. Complete and
Landsat-type Earth surface imaging instru- still active EOS satellites are shown in Tables 1.2
ments. The hyperspectral sensor Hyperion is and 1.3.
the first of its kind to provide images of land sur-
face in more than 220 spectral bands.
Systematic missions provide systematic
1.2.3 Overview of major satellite
measurements of key environmental variables
missions and programs
that are essential to specify changes in forcings
caused by factors outside the Earth system There exist 72 different government space
(e.g., changes in incident solar radiation) and to agencies as of 2018, and 14 of those have launch
document the behavior of the major components capability. Six government space agencies have
of the Earth system. An example is the Earth full launch capabilities, i.e., launch and recover
Observing System (EOS) program. EOS is the multiple satellites, deploy cryogenic rocket
1.2 Platform and sensor systems 7
TABLE 1.2 Active EOS satellites as of April 2019. TABLE 1.2 Active EOS satellites as of April
2019.dcont’d
Satellites Launch day
Satellites Launch day
Aqua May 4, 2002
Terra December 18,
Aura July 15, 2004 1999
Cloud-aerosol LiDAR and infrared April 28, 2006 The global change observation May 18, 2012
pathfinder Satellite observation (CALIPSO) mission-water (GCOM-W1)
CloudSat April 28, 2006 Total solar irradiance spectral solar December 15,
Cyclone global Navigation Satellite system December 15, irradiance 1 (TSIS-1) 2017
(EVM-1) (CYGNSS) 2016
Deep space climate observatory (DSCOVR) February 11,
2015
TABLE 1.3 Completed EOS satellites as of April
ECOsystem spaceborne thermal radiometer June 29, 2018 2019.
experiment on space station (EVI-2)
(ECOSTRESS) Satellites Lunch day
Global ecosystem dynamics investigation December 5, Combined Release and Radiation Effects July 25, 1990
LiDAR (EVI-2) (GEDI on ISS) 2018 Satellite (CRRES)
Global precipitation measurement core February 27, Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite September 12,
observatory (GPM Core) 2014 (UARS) 1991
Gravity recovery and climate experiment May 22, 2018 Atmospheric Laboratory of Applications March 24,
follow on (GRACE-FO) and Science (ATLAS) 1992
Ice, cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 September 15, TOPEX/Poseidon August 10,
(ICESat-2) 2018 1992
Jason-3 January 17, Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C) April 19, 1994
2016
Radar Satellite (RADARSAT) November 4,
Landsat 7 April 15, 1999 1995
Landsat 8 February 11, Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer-Earth July 2, 1996
2013 Probe (TOMS-EP)
Lightning imaging sensor on ISS February 19, Advanced Earth Observing Satellite August 17,
(LIS on ISS) 2017 (ADEOS) 1996
Ocean surface topography Mission/Jason-2 January 20, Orbview-2/SeaWiFS August 1, 1997
(OSTM/Jason-2) 2008
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission November 27,
Orbiting carbon observatory 2 (OCO-2) July 2, 2014 (TRMM) 1997
Quik Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) June 19, 1999 Tomographic Experiment using Radiative May 18, 1999
Soil moisture active-passive (SMAP) January 31, Recombinative ionospheric EUV and Radio
2015 Sources (TERRIERS)
Solar radiation and climate experiment January 25, Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance December 20,
(SORCE) 2003 Monitor Satellite (ACRIMSAT) 1999
Stratospheric aerosol and gas experiment February 18, Challenging Mini-Satellite Payload July 15, 2000
III on ISS (SAGE III-ISS) 2017 (CHAMP)
(Continued)
8 1. A systematic view of remote sensing
TABLE 1.3 Completed EOS satellites as of April The following will introduce the major satellite
2019.dcont’d programs of the United States, Europe, and
Satellites Lunch day China.
imaging instruments. Sentinel-1 is a polar- monitor the atmosphere from polar orbit aboard
orbiting, all-weather, day-and-night radar imag- a MetOp Second Generation satellite. Sentinel-6
ing mission for land and ocean service with carries a radar altimeter to measure global sea-
Sentinel-1A launched on April 3, 2014 and surface height, primarily for operational oceanog-
Sentinel-1B on April 25, 2016. Sentinel-2 is a raphy and for climate studies.
polar-orbiting, multispectral high-resolution Similar to the Landsat program, the SPOT
imaging mission for land monitoring, with program has also provided the long-term high-
Sentinel-2A launched on June 23, 2015 and resolution satellite observations. The Landsat
Sentinel-2B on March 7, 2017. Sentinel-3 is a mul- program has been mostly funded by the US
tiinstrument mission to measure sea surface government, but the SPOT program has been
topography, sea- and land surface temperature, operating commercially. The SPOT satellites are
and ocean color and land color. Sentinel-3A was summarized in Table 1.4. It is able to take stereo-
launched on February 16, 2016 and Sentinel-3B pair images almost simultaneously to map
on April 25, 2018. Sentinel-4 is for atmospheric surface topography.
monitoring that will be embarked upon a Meteo-
sat Third Generation-Sounder (MTG-S) satellite 1.2.3.3 China
in geostationary orbit. Sentinel-5 Precursor China has developed several satellite series,
(Sentinel-5P) is to provide timely data on a multi- such as meteorological satellite series Fengyun
tude of trace gases and aerosols. Sentinel-5P was (FY), ocean satellite series Haiyang (HY), Earth
launched on October 13, 2017. Sentinel-5 will resources satellite series Ziyuan (ZY),
1.2 Platform and sensor systems 11
TABLE 1.4 Overview of the SPOT satellites and on October 21, 2003. ZY-1 02C was launched
data characteristics. on December 22, 2011. ZY-3 is China’s first
SPOT Launch Ending Spatial and spectral
high-resolution civilian optical transmission-
satellites date date resolutions type stereo mapping satellite that integrates the
functions of surveying, mapping, and resources
1 February December One 10 m panchromatic
investigation. ZY-3 is equipped with two front
22, 1986 31, 1990 band (0.51e0.73 mm);
three 20 m multispectral and back view CCD cameras having the resolu-
bands: green (0.50e0.59), tion better than 3.5 m, one CCD camera with
red (0.61e0.68 mm), near- the resolution better than 2.1 m, and one multi-
infrared (0.79e0.89 mm) spectral camera with the resolution better than
2 January July 2009 Same as SPOT 1 5.8 m. The swath is about 50 km.
22, 1990 The meteorological FY satellite series include
3 September November Same as SPOT-1 both geostationary (FY2 and FY4) and polar-
26, 1993 14, 1997 orbiting (FY-1 and FY-3) satellites. FY3 is the
second generation of the Chinese meterological
4 March 24, July 2013 One 10 m monospectral
1998 band (0.61e0.68 mm); polar-orbiting satellites. FY-3A was launched on
three 20 m multispectral May 27, 2008 and carried 11 sensors. FY-3D is
bands: green (0.50e0.59), the latest one in the series launched on November
red (0.61e0.68 mm), near- 15, 2017. Additional satellites in this series have
infrared (0.79e0.89 mm)
also been planned with FY-3E (2019), FY-3F
5 May 4, March 31, 2.5/5 m panchromatic (2019), and FY-3G (2022). FY-4A was launched
2002 2015 band; three 10 m on December 10, 2016, and additional five new
multispectral bands:
FY-4’s launches were also planned.
green (500e590 nm), red
(610e680 nm), near-IR Gaofen (GF), meaning high resolution in
(780e890 nm) bands, and Chinese, satellite series is part of the China
one 20m resolution on High-Resolution Earth Observation System
shortwave-infrared (1.58 (CHEOS), an analog to Europe’s Copernicus
e1.75 mm)
program of Sentinel Earth observation satellites.
6 September One 1.5 m panchromatic The first few satellites and some characteristics
9, 2012 band; four 6m are shown in Table 1.5.
multispectral bands: blue
(450e525 nm), green (530
e590 nm), red (625
e695 nm), near-infrared 1.2.4 Small satellites and satellite
(760e890 nm)
constellations
7 June 30, Same sensors as SPOT 6
2014 All satellites can be classified into seven clas-
ses based on their masses (see Table 1.6). There
environment and disaster monitoring small sat- is a trend in using small satellites for Earth obser-
ellite constellation (HJ). Their launch times are vation for reducing the cost: heavier satellites
shown in Fig. 1.5. require larger rockets with greater thrust, which
The resource ZY satellite series started with also has greater cost to finance. Small satellites,
the ChinaeBrazil Earth resource satellites also known as miniaturized satellites, are artifi-
(CBERS) jointly developed by China and Brazil cial satellites of low mass and size, usually under
with CBERS-1 launched in 1999 and CBERS-2 500 kg. Most of these small satellites have been
used with “mother” satellites that provide
12 1. A systematic view of remote sensing
FIGURE 1.5 Major Chinese satellites relevant to land remote sensing and their launch times (Liang et al., 2018).
operating signals; however, more recent versions cover might be a good example of a mission
are operating independently. Femto satellites where higher refresh rate at lower accuracy is a
and other types of small satellites are beginning preferred approach.
to revolutionize not only who can send satellite The Planet Labs, a private company based in
systems in space but also they have now given San Francisco, CA, USA, had launched 298 satel-
unprecedented access for data collection. lites, 150 of which were active, as of September
According to the Union of Concerned Scien- 2018. The company is operating several Earth
tists Database, all 620 active EO satellites in observation satellite constellations: Flock, Rapi-
2017 include 186 large satellites, 74 small satel- dEye, and Skysat. The Flock constellation consists
lites, 100 microsats, 215 Nanosats/CubeSats, of the Dove Cubesats that weigh 4 kg (8.8 lb),
and the remaining 45 satellites that do not have 10 10 30 cm (3.9 in 3.9 in 11.8 in) in
a launch mass specified. In particular, the num- length, width, and height. Each Dove satellite
ber of Nanosats/CubeSats increased by 34.68% is tiny and has a lifespan of 1e3 years but can
from 2016. observe the Earth at 3e5 m spatial resolution.
Satellite systems are generally transitioning The RapidEye constellation consists of five sat-
from the single satellite model to the cooperative ellites producing 5-m (16 ft) resolution imagery
sensing approach. For missions requiring global that Planet acquired from the German company
or continuous coverage in real time or within a BlackBridge in 2015. The five satellites travel on
very short temporal period, there is a potential the same orbital plane (at an altitude of
advantage in deploying a constellation of satel- 630 km) and together are capable of collecting
lites. A satellite constellation is a group of satel- over 4 million km of 5-m resolution, 5-band im-
lites operating in a coordinated format. The agery every day in the blue (440e510 nm), green
well-known example is the global positioning (520e590 nm), red (630e690 nm), red-edge
system (GPS) constellation (Fig. 1.6). (690e730 nm), and near infrared (760e880 nm).
Constellations of small satellites may offer a The Skysat constellation, purchased from
new approach to those science missions that Google in 2017, is composed of CubeSat that
would benefit from more frequent sampling by can observe the Earth surface at a spatial resolu-
a larger number of lower cost sensors. Moni- tion of 0.9 m in its 400e900 nm panchromatic
toring of time-varying phenomena such as cloud band, making it the smallest satellite to be put
1.2 Platform and sensor systems 13
TABLE 1.5 Overview of the Gaofen first seven sat- in orbit capable of such high-resolution imagery.
ellites and data characteristics. The four multispectral bands have a spatial reso-
GF- Launch date Notes
lution of 2 m in blue (450e515 nm), green
(515e595 nm), red (605e695 nm), and near-
1 April 26, 2013 Two sensors: high-resolution cameras infrared (740e900 nm). As of September 2016,
(HRC) and wide field imagers (WFI).
six SkySat satellites were launched. In October
HRC includes pan at 2 m and four
multispectral bands (blue, green, red, 2017, four additional Dove satellites were also
and near-IR) at 8m with the swath of launched being part of this constellation.
68 km. WFI has similar four Besides the constellations with actual satel-
multispectral bands to HRC at 16m lites simultaneously orbiting in space, the
resolution with the swath of 830 km.
concept of virtual constellation has also been
Repeating cycle: 4 days at the equator
proposed. The CEOS defines virtual constella-
2 August A single camera: one 1 m Pan and 4 m tions as a “set of space and ground segment capabil-
19, 2014 multispectral bands (blue, green, red,
ities that operate in a coordinated manner to meet a
and near-IR). Swath: 45 km. Repeating
cycle: 4 days at equator combined and common set of Earth Observation
requirements.”
3 September A quad-polarization (vertical-vertical
We are increasingly faced the challenging dif-
8, 2016 (VV); horizontalhorizontal (HH);
vertical-horizontal (VH); ficulty to address rapid changes in the global
horizontalvertical (HV)) C-Band SAR at environment using data from single-satellite
25 m spatial resolution, a 26-day repeat sensors or platforms due to the underlying limi-
cycle tations of data availability and tradeoffs that
4 December A geostationary satellite with a camera govern the design and implementation of exist-
28, 2015 of 5 bands. The first four bands (blue, ing satellite systems. Virtual constellations can
green, red, and near-IR) at 50 m principally be used to add value to Earth obser-
resolution, the middle-IR (3.5e4.1 mm)
vation by combining sensors with similar spatial,
at 400m resolution. Swath: 400 km.
spectral, temporal, and radiometric characteris-
5 September Two hyperspectral/multispectral tics. Virtual constellations of planned and exist-
5, 2018 sensors for terrestrial earth observation
ing satellite sensors may help to overcome the
and four atmospheric observation
sensors: visible shortwave infrared limitation by combining existing observations
hyperspectral camera, full-spectrum to mitigate limitations of any one particular
spectral imager, atmospheric aerosol sensor. While multisensory applications are not
multiangle polarization detector, new, the integration and harmonization of multi-
atmospheric trace gases differential
sensor data is still challenging, requiring tremen-
absorption spectrometer, main
atmospheric greenhouse gases monitor, dous efforts of science and operational user
ultrahigh-resolution infrared communities.
atmospheric sounder The CEOS has formed seven virtual constella-
6 February Similar to the GF-1 satellite, but using a tions so far to coordinate space-based, ground-
6, 2018 different instrument suit, consisting of a based, and/or data delivery systems to meet a
2/8 m resolution panchromatic/ common set of requirements within a specific
hyperspectral camera and a 16 m domain, including Atmospheric Composition
resolution wide angle camera
(AC-VC), Land Surface Imaging (LSI-VC),
7 2019 Similar to ZY-3 with 3D topographical Ocean Color Radiometry (OCR-VC), Ocean
mapping Surface Topography (OST-VC), Ocean Surface
I
There was once a young noble who was very poor. He was a
Samurai who had offended his lord and so was obliged to leave his
own province and travel in search of employment. It was very hard
for him to find anything to do, for neither he nor his fair young wife
had been taught to work.
“Alas! my bride! White as the lily art thou and tender as the
carnation,—to what has thy love for me brought thee!” he cried.
But Tsuiu caressed him sweetly and said, “I am happy since my
lord has taken me with him. The good-luck god will surely hear our
prayers and we shall find a fortunate issue.”
Then was the soul of Shindo lightened and he strode along the
highway gladly, and Tsuiu walked beside him, and the breath of the
morning was sweet and kind. They walked for many hours and found
no rest; but the music of the grass-larks was sweet and the sun was
bright.
But when the shadows began to fall, and the fireflies to flit among
the tall grasses, and the moon to creep slowly above the crest of the
mountains, the little wife drew closer to Shindo San; for in her terror
she saw robbers in every tree and bush.
“Be not afraid, my beloved,” he said, as he drew her within his
sheltering arms. “See! here is a pleasant knoll beneath this sendai
tree. Wrap yourself in my mantle. Pillow your head upon my arm.
Then may the god of dreams send you a good-luck dream and may
your slumber be sweet. I will watch!”
“I will obey, my lord,” said Tsuiu. She closed her eyes, and, holding
the left sleeve of her kimono across her face, she was soon fast
asleep.
Shindo watched and waited, his hand upon his sword; but he too
was weary, and soon his eyes closed and his head drooped. He
slept and dreamed that two huge dragons came out of the West and
sought to devour them; and lo! as he cried aloud in terror for the
safety of Tsuiu San, a greater Dragon came out of the East and
devoured the first two, and he and his bride escaped.
Then he awoke suddenly and sprang to his feet, putting O Tsuiu
San behind him, for robbers were upon him, and there were two. He
drew his sword and fought fiercely, but they well-nigh overpowered
him. He felt his strength fail. The blood was gushing from a wound in
his arm. Suddenly there appeared upon the scene a ronin who
quickly put to flight the robbers and saved the life of Shindo.
Then he and O Tsuiu San thanked the ronin very heartily, and
finding the morning dawn at hand, and hearing the morning bell from
a distant temple, they started on their way.
“Tell me first, whence you come and whither you go,” said the
ronin. “For I well see that you are of better times, and that misfortune
has brought you here.”
“We are in dire distress,” said the Samurai, “and I have scarce a
yen[8] to buy rice for the breakfast of my wife.” Then he told all their
story to the ronin, who, being of a good heart, was grieved at their
sorrows.
“It is little that I can do for you myself,” he said, “since I am but a
wanderer with nothing in my sleeves. But come with me and I will set
you in the way of making a good but simple friend. Yonder are the
towers and temples of Yedo,” and he pointed to the roofs of a city
gleaming gold in the morning sun. “In a certain street lives a
tradesman, a poor fellow, yet of a good heart. He bears the name of
Chohachi. Seek him and tell him I commend you to his kindness. My
road lies elsewhere. Sayonara!”[9]
Bidding good-by to the ronin, the two hurried on and finding
Chohachi, he took them in and made them welcome. There they
remained several days until O Tsuiu San recovered from her fatigue,
and Shindo from his wound. Then Chohachi spoke.
“Honored One,” he said, “very welcome are you and yours to the
shelter of our roof tree, but the rice pot holds not enough for four. Is
there any way in which you are able to make the pot boil?”
“Good friend,” replied Shindo, “in the house of my fathers the rice
pot ever boiled without assistance from me. I know no way.”
Chohachi knit his brows.
“Can the Honorable One teach the young men to fence?”
“Alas,” cried Shindo. “I have little skill as a swordsman. I fear I
know not enough to teach fencing.”
“Can the Honorable One teach writing?” demanded Chohachi.
“Of that I know even less,” replied his guest, so mournfully that
Chohachi hastened to reassure him. “Some way shall be found to
boil the pot even if we have to hunt the magic paddle of the Oni.”
So the tradesman thought and thought.
“What can this dear fellow do?” he asked himself.
“It must be something of the easiest for he seems not to have
much thought for trading. I have it! He shall be a waste-paper man! A
boy or a simpleton could do that!”
So he purchased a light pole of bamboo with two baskets at the
end, and a pair of bamboo sticks. He called the Samurai “Chobei,”
for Shindo was too fine a name for a waste-paper man, and the
Samurai was started in business.
The first day Chobei lost himself, and had to pay a man to guide
him home. He had bought no waste paper and Chohachi laughed at
him, and scolded, too, saying,
“Call out! No one will know what you want if you walk about the
streets in silence like a monk!”
Chobei was anxious to do all things right, for it pained him to be
depending upon the good trader, and it hurt him still more to think of
little O Tsuiu San sitting all day over her embroidery, trying to earn a
few coins with which to boil the pot.
So, in order to grow used to the sound of his own voice, he went to
an open lot, where there was not a house in sight, and shouted,
“Waste paper! waste paper!” all day until he was hoarse. The street
boys thought he was mad, and they laughed at him and threw
stones. Then he went home more discouraged than ever, and
Chohachi, choked with laughter, explained again patiently,
“See, good Samurai, go into the back streets; rich people do not
sell waste papers. Talk with the women, engage them with pleasant
words and flattery, and then say, ‘Perhaps you have some waste
paper to sell.’”
“chobei went forth to try again”
So Chobei went forth to try again, and this time he sought in the
poorer streets. There young women were washing upon the steps,
children were playing upon the pavement, old women were talking in
the doorways, and to them all Chobei smiled and bowed, “May the
sun goddess smile upon you, honorable august Madame,” he would
say with his most courtly air. “That you and your honorable family are
in good health is my wish. It gives me pleasure to meet you. I am
from a far street and I ask the honor of your acquaintance. Have you
any waste paper to sell?”
Although the good women understood, he might have left unsaid
all his remarks except the last. But they were pleased with his air,
and they ransacked their houses for waste paper. They called him
the “Knightly Waste-paper Man,” and soon he had a very good trade
and earned many yen, which Chohachi helped him carefully to
spend. Then O Tsuiu San and the little daughter whom the gods sent
to them, were well cared for.
II
One day the Knightly Waste-paper Man was crying his wares
through the streets when he saw a crowd about a man who had
fallen by the way.
“’Tis but a starving beggar,” said one. But Chobei had learned
much in the days when he had walked the streets without a sen[10] in
his sleeves, and his heart was tender. He hurried to the beggar’s aid
and to his surprise found that he was no other than Bun-yemon, the
ronin who had helped him to escape from his home, when his lord
was angry so long ago. He caused him to be taken up and carried
home.
That night Chobei talked long with Tsuiu.
“Gratitude is a sacred duty,” he said. “But for this ronin perhaps we
should have been murdered, and now that he has reached this low
estate, it is our place to help him, but how?” O Tsuiu San sighed.
“In all these years, my lord,” she said, “we have lived by the favor
of the gods, but we have saved nothing. How much should we give
Bun-yemon?”
“Not less than twenty-five gold rio,[11]” said Chobei. “It is a fortune!
There is but one way in which we might obtain it. We might sell
Iroka.”
“Sell my daughter!” cried Tsuiu. “My lord, my lord!” and she wept
bitterly. Chobei wept also, but at last he said,
“It is terrible for me as well as for you, but do you not see that
there is no other way?”
“There is no other way,” said Tsuiu, to whom the will of her lord
was law.
Then they told Iroka all the story and she said,
“Honorable parents, there is no other way. Permit me to be sold,
for it is an honor for me to become a geisha for the debt of my
parents.”
Therefore, with many tears, they sold Iroka and, as she was very
pretty, they obtained for her the sum of five and twenty gold rio.
This Chobei bore to Bun-yemon who refused to take it; but
Chobei, pretending to restore it to his own pocket, slipped it into a
lacquered box and departed. After he was gone, the wife of Bun-
yemon found the money, and her husband was very angry with her,
that she had not watched more carefully.
“This good fellow should never have given me the money,” he
said. “He is poor—only a waste-paper man. I will not take it for
anything. You must carry it back.”
“But I know not where he lives,” said the wife. “And since you have
the money, let me go to the pawnshop and redeem your jeweled
sword, that we may sell the sword for a larger sum. Then we can pay
back Chobei and still have something for ourselves.”
After much coaxing Bun-yemon at last consented to do this and
redeemed the sword. But the pawnbroker’s clerk was angry, for he
had expected to own the sword for the small sum which had been
lent Bun-yemon. So he accused Bun-yemon of stealing the money
and officers came and carried him to prison, setting a watch upon his
wife.
She, however, determined to free her husband. The Machi-Bugyo
of Yedo was the most righteous of judges and she went straight to
him, escaping from the watchful eye of the officers when there was a
fire in the neighborhood and every one was much excited. She found
the Machi-Bugyo, as he was riding to inspect the firemen, and she
knelt in the dust, catching hold of his bridle rein.
“Most noble Machi-Bugyo,” she cried. “Honorably deign to listen.
They have taken my husband from me, and they accuse him
unjustly. You, who are the friend of the poor, save him!”
The Lord of the city listened, and, being of a good heart, he had
compassion upon the wife of Bun-yemon. He ordered the clerk of the
pawnbroker to appear before him, and also Bun-yemon. And Chobei,
hearing of the trouble, appeared and told that he had given the
twenty-five gold rio. Bun-yemon was therefore cleared from the
charge of theft.
“Go in peace,” said the Machi-Bugyo to him. “The master of the
evil clerk shall pay a fine of one hundred gold rio, because a master
should have only honest servants. The wicked clerk shall be put to
death, for he witnessed falsely against an innocent man. The gold
shall be given to Bun-yemon who must, with twenty-five rio, redeem
the daughter of Chobei.
“As for you, Chobei, you have done well in paying your debt of
gratitude at so great a cost to yourself; and your daughter is to be
commended for her obedience. Take this reward for you both,” and
he gave him a hundred yen. “Be dismissed, for I have spoken.”
Then were all happy, for Iroka was returned to her parents and
Chobei’s friend, Chohachi, was rewarded for his kindness of heart.
The whole matter soon coming to the ears of the Shogun, he
commanded the old lord of Chobei to forgive him and restore him to
his home. Then was Chobei, whom men again called Shindo, very
happy, and he no longer cried “Waste Paper!” through the back
streets of Yedo. But there he is not forgotten, for when the women
gather to gossip they speak of him with smiles, saying ever of him,
“Isuzure wo kite mo kokoro wa nishiki (coat of rags, heart of
brocade).”
Footnotes
[8] Japanese coin equivalent to our dollar.
[9] Good-by.
[10] A Japanese coin equivalent to our cent.
[11] A Japanese ounce.
THE HUNTER AND THE PRIEST
There was once a hunter who dwelt in the village of Kyoto and
sought his game upon the mountain of Atagoyama. He was proud of
being so mighty a hunter, for he never came empty-handed from the
forest; yet at times he felt ill at ease. This was because he made a
daily business of killing, and so he was displeasing to the Buddha.
[12]
To set his conscience at rest, therefore, he often made offerings of
rice and fruit to a certain holy priest who dwelt in a little shrine upon
the mountain-side.
The priest was very good. Studying the sacred books he dwelt in
the solitude of the forest. He was so far from the homes of men that
he would have fared ill had it not been for the visits of the hunter who
brought to him supplies of things to eat.
One day the hunter came to the temple.
“Honorable one,” he said politely, “I have brought you a bag of
rice. May each grain be a prayer for me.”
“Good friend,” said the priest, “I thank you, and in return I will show
you a miracle. For many years I have read and studied and reflected
upon the Holy Books and it may be that I am receiving my reward.
Know then, that each night the Buddha comes to me, here at the
temple, riding upon an elephant. Do you not believe? Then tarry and
see.”
“i will show you a miracle”
Speaking respectfully to the priest, the hunter said, “I long to see
this wonderful thing.” But in his heart he said to himself, “This thing
can not be true.”
Then he turned to the little temple boy and asked, “Have you seen
this marvel?”
“Six times I have seen Fugen Bosatsu and fallen before him,” said
the boy; and the hunter marveled again.
Dark and silent was the night, save for the wind spirit who swept
through the trees, now whispering softly, now moaning as if in pain.
Behind the clouds the moon hid herself, throwing now and again fitful
gleams across the little shrine at the door of which knelt the priest
and his acolyte. Behind them stood the hunter, his heart filled with
unbelief. No word was spoken and only a quick indrawing of the
hunter’s breath betokened his amazement as the vision came.
In the east arose a star, which grew and grew until the whole
mountain-side seemed light; and then there appeared a snow-white
elephant with six huge tusks. Upon his back was a rider, and as the
figures neared the temple, the priest and the temple boy threw
themselves upon the ground, praying aloud to the Fugen Bosatsu.
But the hunter had no prayer within his soul. This thing seemed to
him not holy but accursed, and, springing in front of the priest, he set
a shaft, drew his bow to the full, and sent his arrow straight to the
heart of the Buddha. Straight to the heart it went, clear to the
feathers of the shaft, and lo! a terrible cry rent the air. No longer was
there white light over the mountain. All was darkness.
“Demon in human form!” cried the priest. “Is it not enough that you
spend your vile life destroying God’s creatures upon the earth? To
this sin, must you add that of destroying Buddha himself?”
“Not so,” replied the hunter. “Be not so rash. Judgment of others is
far too great a sin for one so holy as yourself. Listen, and I will
explain what I have done. I have not destroyed the Buddha. You
have been deceived. Do you think it is possible that I could see
Fugen Bosatsu? I am a mighty hunter, stained with the blood of living
creatures. This is displeasing to the Buddha. Now then, would he
reveal himself to me? The boy too is but a lad, and why should he
see holy visions? You think because you have read and studied
much, and because you are of a pure life and a truthful tongue that
the Buddha desires to do you honor and reveal to you Fugen
Bosatsu. No, good sir, for were this true, you alone could see the
vision and it would not be vouchsafed to two sinful ones beside.
“Indeed, you saw not Fugen Bosatsu, but something deceiving
and false; and when the morning comes I will prove to you that I
speak the truth.”
So when the morning broke in golden streams across the
mountain-top the hunter and the priest looked long and carefully, and
they found a spot of blood where had stood the vision of the night.
Another and another they found, forming a slender trail which led
deep into the forest, and ever the crimson trail grew larger and larger
until at last they found a pool of blood beside the body of a huge
badger which lay dead, pierced by an arrow.
“See,” said the hunter. “You have been deceived though you are
far holier than I. All your study can not teach you what I was taught
by common sense.”
Footnotes
[12] Buddhism does not approve the taking of life.
THE PRINCESS MOONBEAM
A woodman once dwelt with his wife at the edge of the forest,
under the shadow of the Honorable Mountain. The two were
industrious and good, but though they loved each other they were
not happy. No children had come to bless them and this the wife
mourned deeply.
The husband pitied her and treated her very kindly, yet still she
was sad. As she gazed upon the snows of Fujiyama her heart
swelled within her and she prostrated herself and said, “Fuji no
Yama, Honorable Mountain, my heart is heavy because no childish
arms encircle my neck, no little head nestles in my bosom. From thy
eternal purity send some little white soul to comfort me!”
The Honorable Mountain spoke not; yet as she prayed, lo, from its
heights there sparkled and glowed a tiny light. Fitful and gleaming it
seemed, yet it had a silver radiance as of the moon.
The woodman’s wife beheld it, and she called to her husband
eagerly, “Come hither, I pray you. See the strange light which comes
from Fuji San. I seem to see a face smiling at me. It is the face of a
little child!”
Then her husband smiled at her fancy, but, because he loved her,
he said indulgently, “I will go and see what it is.”
“I thank you, my lord; go quickly!” she replied.
So, quickly he went to the forest, and as he neared a mountain
stream, with Fuji gleaming cold and white in the moonlight, he saw
the strange light, which seemed to hover and rest upon the branches
of a tall bamboo. Hastening thither he found there a moon child, a
tiny, fragile, fairy thing, more beautiful than any child he had ever
seen.
“Little creature,” he said. “Who are you?”
“My name is Princess Moonbeam,” she answered sweetly. “My
mother is the Moon Lady, and she has sent me to Earth because
every Moon Child must do some good thing, else will its silvery light
become pale and wan and be of no avail.”
“Little Princess,” he said eagerly, “the best of good deeds is to
comfort a sad heart. Come home with me and be a child to my wife,
who weeps for children. Thus will your beams grow bright.”
“I will go with you,” said the little Moonbeam, and, rejoicing greatly,
he bore her tenderly to his wife.
“I bring you a treasure,” he said. “The Moon Lady sends you this
beam of light to lighten your sad heart.”
“lovelier grew the moon child every year”
Then was his wife much overjoyed and she took the little creature
to her bosom and cared for her.
Lovelier grew the Moon Child every year and much she rejoiced
the hearts of her foster parents. Her hair was like a golden aureole
about her face. Her eyes were deep and tender, her cheeks were
pale and delicate, and about her there was a subtle and unearthly
charm. Every one loved her, even the emperor’s son, who, hunting in
the forest, saw her lighting up the humble cottage with her heavenly
light. He loved her dearly and she loved him, but alas! she could not
marry him because her life upon the earth could be but twenty years.
Then she must return to her home in the moon, for so willed her
mother the Moon Lady.
At last the day came when she must go. Her parents wept, and
could not be consoled; and her lover, who was now the emperor,
could not keep her, although he besought High Heaven to spare her.
Her mother caught her up in a silver moonbeam; and all the way to
the Moon the little Princess wept silvery tears. As the tears fell from
her eyes, lo! they took wings and floated away looking for the form of
her beloved, the emperor, who might see her no more.
But the silver-bright tears are seen to this day floating hither and
yon about the vales and marshes of fair Nippon. The children chase
them with happy cries, and say, “See the fireflies! How fair they are!
Whence came they?”
Then their mothers relate to them the legend and say, “These are
the tears of the little Princess, flitting to seek her beloved”; and over
all, calm and eternal, smiles the Honorable Mountain.
THE SINGLE LANTERN OF YAMATO
There was a poor woman in Yamato who was very good. She
prayed daily at the graves of her parents, although she was very old.
Daily she placed there some grains of rice, although she was very,
very poor. She went to the temple whenever she was able, and
prayed much. She was kind to the poor and gave always to the
hungry, so that often she went hungry herself.
“It is better to be hungry than to grow hard of heart,” she said.
Now they made a grand temple in Yamato and all the people were
proud and gave to it many yen. They gave a lantern of bronze so
wonderfully fine that all men wondered, for the workmanship was
delicate and beautiful. The lantern makers had sat and wrought upon
it for days with matchless skill and patience. The stand was large
and the light so small as to seem but a mere glimmer of the light of
the world.
Many lanterns were given to the temple and a rich man gave a
thousand large ones.
“All men shall see that I am of a generous heart,” he said proudly
to himself.
“she went to the temple and prayed much”
The poor woman was grieved at heart.
“I have nothing to give,” she said. “The gods would accept nothing
that I have.” She looked carefully over her poor little house, but alas!
There was nothing any one would buy. She had only the barest
necessaries and these much worn and used for many years.
At last she bethought herself that she still possessed one thing
which she might sell. Her hair was yet long and black. It might not
bring much, but it would be worth something.
“I am too old to marry, no one cares how I look,” she said, smiling
to herself. “I will sell my hair to make a temple offering.”
So she sold it for a small sum, which happily she found was
enough to buy one little temple light. This she joyfully placed upon
the shrine.
How tiny it looked beside the rich man’s great ones! Yet its light
seemed to her to warm her old heart into fresher life, and she was
happy.
That night there was a great festival in the temple. All the lamps
were lighted, from the great ones of the rich man to the tiny one
which the poor woman had placed there with such loving care.
The whole temple was aglow with light, and all the people praised
the rich man and said, “How generous he is! How great!”
But just as they were praising him and admiring the lights, there
sprang up a sudden fierce wind. It blew so wild a gust that the light of
all the great lanterns of the rich man went out, and all was darkness.
Yet not all—for lo! there gleamed through the gloom a tiny light, as
bright as the light of day. It was the little light of the poor woman,
which with its spark seemed to light the whole great temple, and all
the people wondered. Then they looked with care to see whence
came the little light and when they found it was the gift of so humble
a soul they marveled again. But the priest of the temple, who was old
and good and very wise, said, “Do not marvel! In the sight of the All
Knowing One, the poor gift of a good heart is more worthy than all
the splendor of the rich and proud.”
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