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Spatial Resolution

Spatial resolution refers to the number of pixels in a digital image. Higher resolution images have more pixels and can show finer detail. Spatial resolution depends on factors like the sensor's instantaneous field of view and distance from the ground. Images are described as low, medium, or high resolution depending on whether large, small, or very small objects can be seen. Resolution is a key characteristic in remote sensing.

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Muhammad Hammad Azhar
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424 views

Spatial Resolution

Spatial resolution refers to the number of pixels in a digital image. Higher resolution images have more pixels and can show finer detail. Spatial resolution depends on factors like the sensor's instantaneous field of view and distance from the ground. Images are described as low, medium, or high resolution depending on whether large, small, or very small objects can be seen. Resolution is a key characteristic in remote sensing.

Uploaded by

Muhammad Hammad Azhar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Spatial resolution

• Spatial resolution is a term that refers to the


number of pixels
• Images having higher spatial resolution are
composed with a greater number of pixels
• This interactive tutorial explores variations in
digital image spatial resolution, and how these
values affect the final appearance of the image
• The spatial resolution of a digital image is
related to the spatial density of the image and
optical resolution of the microscope used to
capture the image.
• The number of pixels contained in a digital
image and the distance between each pixel
(known as the sampling interval) are a
function of the accuracy of the digitizing
device
• Most remote sensing images are composed of
a matrix of picture elements, or pixels, which
are the smallest units of an image.
• Image pixels are normally square and
represent a certain area on an image.
• It is important to distinguish between pixel
size and spatial resolution - they are not
interchangeable
• The ellipses are turned into square pixels by
data processing in creating the image.
• For example, when viewing an image with
1km resolution not only will you not be able
to see anything that is smaller than 1km in
size, but objects needs to be significantly
larger than 1km for any detail to be
discernable
• Any image with a spatial resolution of
between 50m and 1km, is described as having
low spatial resolution.
• If you want to look for smaller objects, you’ll
need use images with medium spatial
resolutions of between 4m to 50m. There is
quite a lot of freely available imagery within
this range. For example, NASA’s Landsat 8
operates at 15, 30m and 100m resolution
30m Spatial Resolution 10m Spatial Resolution

1m Spatial Resolution
Instantaneous Field of View
• It refers to the size of the smallest possible
feature that can be detected. Spatial
resolution of passive sensors depends
primarily on their Instantaneous Field of View
(IFOV).
• The IFOV is the angular cone of visibility of
the sensor (A) and determines the area on the
Earth's surface which is "seen" from a given
altitude at one particular moment in time (B).
• The size of the area viewed is determined by
multiplying the IFOV by the distance from the
ground to the sensor (C).
• This area on the ground is called the
resolution cell and determines a sensor's
maximum spatial resolution.
• Images where only large features are visible
are said to have coarse or low resolution.
• Fine or high resolution images, small objects
can be detected.
• Military sensors for example, are designed to
view as much detail as possible, and therefore
have very fine resolution.
• Commercial satellites provide imagery with
resolutions varying from a few metres to
several kilometres
Scale
• The ratio of distance on an image or map, to
actual ground distance is referred to as scale.
• If we had a map with a scale of 1:100,000, an
object of 1cm length on the map would
actually be an object 100,000cm (1km) long
on the ground.
Important
• Spatial resolution is a key characteristic in
remote sensing, where it’s often used to refer
to the size of pixels within an acquired image.
• However this is a simplification as the
detector in the satellite doesn’t see the square
suggested by a pixel, but rather it sees an
ellipse due to the angle through which the
detector receives the signal – known as the
instantaneous field of view

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