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What information can be obtained from satellite images. How do satellite images work? Think about situations in which you might need a geographic map

For the first time, meteorologists used photo and television images of the Earth and cloud cover obtained from space for their needs. In April 1960, the first specialized weather satellite Tiros-1 (Television and Infrared Observation Satellite - an observation satellite with television and infrared equipment) was launched into orbit in the United States. The first images taken by this device showed cloud cover and large geographical features in the gaps - and no signs of human activity! The first such traces were dark spots in the snow of Canada, which, as it turned out, were traces of forest clearing.

Only with the beginning of manned flights did it become possible to observe details on the earth's surface. How unclear this was at the beginning of the space age can be seen from the list of objects to be observed and photographed and recorded during the first flights of Soviet cosmonauts: this is the horizon; clouds at nadir; Moon ; clouds along the route; ocean surface; high mountain areas; dawn; islands and peninsulas; deserts; cities; northern lights; noctilucent clouds; night horizon. That is, simply put, it was proposed to register everything that could be seen. And the surprise that caused a shock on Earth was that quite small objects (buildings, roads, cars) can be seen from orbit.

Already the first photographs taken from orbit by astronauts revealed many details of the structure of cloud systems, while they differed from television images received from automatic weather satellites in their higher spatial resolution.

At first, astronauts' reports about what they saw from orbit were questioned. For example, the message that underwater ridges in the oceans are visible from orbit caused distrust: after all, light penetrates to a depth of only a few tens of meters, and the ridges are located at kilometer depths. And only after some time it became clear that the outlines of the mixing zone of warm surface and cold deep waters seemed to repeat the underwater relief.

“Let only the reader believe that when an astronaut hangs over the porthole and looks out the window, sooner or later his observations will add to the general treasury of knowledge,” wrote cosmonaut-50/100 V.P. Savinykh in his memoirs. - Grain growers and geologists, land reclamation specialists and geographers are standing in line for desperately needed information for the astronauts. This list can be continued almost endlessly... And not only because “everything is visible from above,” but also because from space it is easier to identify the interconnections of some earthly processes and even predict their course.”

From above, from the height of orbit, you can see, if not everything, then a lot that you wouldn’t see otherwise - people were rediscovering the planet. Experiments and observations carried out by astronauts in orbit made it possible to obtain images of a number of various objects that had not previously been observed by traditional means (such as aerial photography) (for example, large-scale geological formations - ring structures, faults in the earth's crust). Thus, filming from the Salyut-5 station made it possible to trace large deep faults over long distances, which are often zones of mineral deposits. Filming from the Salyut-6 station showed the possibility of obtaining images of the bottom of shallow seas, sea and ocean currents, which opened up the possibility of their mapping; zones of accumulation of phyto- and zooplankton, schools of fish.

The results of the astronauts' observations were subsequently almost always confirmed. These observations and surveys were especially important at the initial stage, when there was still no complete and clear idea of where to look and what to look for.

As knowledge accumulates, new areas of using space technology to study the Earth have emerged. Various satellite systems began to be created, initially specialized (communications, meteorological, navigation, for studying the Earth's natural resources, etc.).

Orbital experiments and observations by astronauts served as the basis for the formation of technical requirements when determining the appearance and characteristics of automatic systems and when developing new equipment for conducting observations and research from space.

The first Soviet specialized meteorological system was the Meteor system. Meteor 1 was launched on March 26, 1969. The system included three satellites in quasi-polar circumcircular orbits with an altitude of about 900 km; they covered an area of 30 thousand km² every hour. The information was obtained using optical and infrared equipment.

The US National Operational Weather System began to function in full in the 70s of the last century. It includes the satellites "Tiros", "Nimbus", and ATS. During this time, according to American experts, not a single tropical storm was missed. In particular, in August-September 1979, as Hurricanes David and Frederick moved towards the Gulf Coast, hundreds of thousands of lives were saved due to the presence of weather satellites in orbit. Data received from these satellites allowed meteorologists to accurately determine the direction of movement and speed of a hurricane and promptly notify the local population of their approach.

In 1978–1979, the largest international meteorological project at that time, GARP (Global Atmospheric Research Program), was carried out, aimed at studying global processes in the atmosphere leading to changes in weather and climate. The group of means that carried out weather observation included both low-orbit and geostationary satellites. At the same time, observations were carried out using sea vessels, aircraft, buoys, balloons, and meteorological rockets.

Electronic eye

Information from space turned out to be not just useful, but vitally necessary for almost all areas of human activity. In addition to weather services, this includes agriculture and forestry, urban planning, laying railway and highway routes, pipelines, environmental protection, mineral exploration...

The use of space means to study the Earth's natural resources has proven to be very effective. In the United States, at the initial stage, these studies were carried out by Landsat satellites, in the USSR by spacecraft of the Cosmos series. Information was extracted from images obtained in the visible and infrared spectral ranges.

The satellites provided multispectral images of large-scale features and discontinuities in the Earth's crust that had not previously been observed. Information about rupture zones and fractures obtained from Landsat satellites was used to select sites for the construction of nuclear power plants and pipelines.

With the help of satellite systems, many important discoveries have been made, new mineral deposits have been explored, including oil and gas, earthquake-prone areas have been mapped - it’s really difficult to list everything. In the Kyzylkum sands, satellite images revealed lenses of shallow fresh and slightly mineralized waters. A geographical discovery has also been made, albeit a sad one - the Aral Sea no longer exists.

Visual and instrumental observations are carried out in every manned flight from the beginning of the space age to the present day, the range of tasks is expanding and becoming more complex, and equipment is being improved.

On the first Soviet Vostok devices, conventional equipment was used for photo and film recording - the professional Konvas film camera. There is a huge distance between it and the modern equipment with which astronauts now work. Multispectral and spectrozonal photography is now used for observation and filming from orbit. In 1976, the multispectral camera MKF-6, jointly developed by scientists of the USSR and the GDR as part of the Intercosmos program and manufactured at the famous Carl Zeiss Jena enterprise, was tested for the first time on the Soyuz-22 spacecraft. This camera was the first to obtain a stereoscopic image of the Fedchenko glacier and more than a hundred smaller glaciers, of which only about 30 were previously known. In addition, areas suitable for cattle breeding were identified.

Subsequently, a block of six multispectral devices MKF-6 M began to be used. The devices use special film and light filters that perceive various information. For example, one of the devices records the structure of the soil, its composition and moisture content, another camera receives information about the types of vegetation, the third is configured to receive data on the quality of water in lakes and oceans.

These cameras were widely used at the Salyut and Mir stations. Now a new instrument is operating on board the ISS - “Spektr-256”. It allows you to record the spectral characteristics of the earth's surface in 256 channels of the visible and infrared spectrum. A microcomputer is used as a recorder of the received information.

A huge amount of work on studying large-scale natural processes and climate change was carried out by American astronauts in April 1994. On board the Endeavor spacecraft (), the space radar laboratory SRL-1 (Space Radar Laboratory) was launched into orbit. The laboratory also included a device for monitoring air pollution. It was planned to obtain about 6,000 radar images of more than 400 objects and about 50 million km² (10%) of the Earth's area. In addition, the astronauts had to take 14,000 photographs using conventional equipment, for which there were 14 photo and film cameras on board. Filming from space was supplemented by observations from ground teams, as well as from aircraft and ships.

The shooting plan was almost completely completed. Unique three-dimensional stereoscopic images of mountains, deserts, forests, oceans and rivers were obtained. Astronauts imaged the area of a giant fire in China in 1987 and measured the concentration of carbon monoxide above the area.

Endeavor's second flight with SRL-1 in September of that year included the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant as a subject to survey environmental recovery from the 1986 disaster. At this time, the eruption of Klyuchevskaya Sopka in Kamchatka was taking place; the ship passed over the volcano twice at an altitude of 283 km and filmed the eruption. These were unique surveys - previous eruptions occurred in 1737 and 1945.

Currently, a global system for remote sensing of the Earth has been created and is functioning, and the overwhelming majority of information comes from unmanned vehicles. Nevertheless, visual and instrumental observations from orbital stations and manned spacecraft have not lost their importance. They are carried out constantly and form the most important part of an astronaut’s activity during flight.

This is especially important when studying rapidly occurring processes and phenomena that require prompt transmission of information. These are typhoons, oil spill areas, mudflows, forest fires, glacier movements, and much more. Visual and instrumental observations are especially effective when conducting oceanographic research, because By other means it is very difficult to obtain operational information about large-scale dynamic processes.

The amount of information that comes from space is colossal. For example, the amount of information that the crews of the Soviet orbital stations Salyut 6 and Salyut 7 received in five minutes could have been collected in only two years of aerial photography.

The presence of a person on board makes it possible to reduce the amount of transmitted information due to its preliminary control, processing and selection before transmission to Earth. At the same time, the quality of filming is, as a rule, higher than from unmanned satellites, since the operator, by controlling the operation of stationary equipment, has the opportunity to take into account the shooting conditions (cloudiness, haze, illumination, etc.). It is possible to observe and study randomly occurring processes and phenomena of various kinds, as well as, which is very important, to promptly transmit information to Earth.

During the post-perestroika years, our satellite systems have aged significantly and become thinner, but everything is slowly being restored. Here's what the launch program looks like until 2015.

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Abstract on the discipline

« Cartography with the basics of topography. GIS. ICT in geography lessons »

On this topic:

Executor:

Logunova Yulia Alexandrovna

Zvenigorod 2018 year

Content

Introduction (p.3)

Types of filming (c.6)

Space cartography (p.8)

Monitoring the environment from space (p.12)

Conclusion (p.15)

References (p. 16)

Introduction

Goal of the work: consideration of the essence of space photography.

Space photography is a technological process of photographing the earth's surface from an aircraft in order to obtain photographic images of the area (photographs) with specified parameters and characteristics. The main tasks of space photography include: research of the planets of the solar system; study and rational use of the Earth's natural resources; study of anthropogenic changes in the earth's surface; exploration of the World Ocean; air and ocean pollution research; environmental monitoring; study of shelf and coastal waters .

The main difference between photographing from space is: high altitude, flight speed and their periodic change as the spacecraft moves in orbit; rotation of the Earth, and, consequently, of the objects being photographed relative to the orbital plane; rapid change in the illumination of the Earth along the flight path of the spacecraft; photographing through the entire layer of the atmosphere; photographic equipment is fully automated. A high shooting altitude causes the image to be zoomed out. The choice of orbital altitude is carried out based on the tasks that are solved during photography and the need to obtain photographic images of a certain scale. In this regard, the requirements for the optical system of cameras are increasing in terms of image quality, which must be good throughout the entire field. The requirements for geometric distortions are especially high.

We are witnessing how man is gradually mastering the near-Earth space and how automata sent from Earth are successfully studying other planets of the solar system. Artificial satellites created by people and launched into space transmit to Earth photographs of our planet taken from great heights.

So today we can sayabout space geodesy , or, as it is also called, satellite geodesy. We are witnessing the emergence of a new section of cartography, which it would be fashionable to callspace cartography.

Already today, images taken from space are used to make changes in the content of maps, being the most rapid means of identifying these changes. Further development of space cartography will lead to even more significant results.

The significance and advantage of images of the Earth from Space compared to conventional aerial photographs are undeniable. First of all, their visibility - images from heights of hundreds and thousands of kilometers make it possible to obtain both images covering aerial photography and images of an area extending hundreds and thousands of kilometers. In addition, they have the properties of spectral and spatial generalization, i.e., screening out the secondary, random and highlighting the essential, the main. Space photography makes it possible to obtain images at regular intervals, which in turn makes it possible to study the dynamics of any process.

The possibility of obtaining satellite images has led to the emergence of a number of new thematic maps - maps of such phenomena, the numerous characteristics of which are practically impossible to obtain by other methods. Thus, for the first time in the history of science, global maps of cloud cover and ice conditions were compiled. Satellite images are indispensable when studying the dynamics of atmospheric processes - tropical cyclones and hurricanes. For these purposes, photography from ceostationary satellites is especially effective - satellites “motionlessly” hovering over one point on the Earth’s surface, or, more precisely, moving along with the earth at the same angular velocity.

Satellite images provided fundamentally new information to geologists. They made it possible to increase the depth of research and gave rise to a new type of cartographic works - “cosmophotogeological” maps. The most important advantage of satellite images is the ability to show on them new features of the structure of territories that are invisible on conventional aerial photographs. It is the filtration of small details that leads to the spatial organization of devastated fragments of large geological formations into a single whole. Linear discontinuities, called lineaments, clearly visible in photographs, cannot always be detected during direct field surveys. Lineament maps provide significant assistance in deep exploration of minerals. Previously unknown geological structures were discovered in this way in the middle reaches of the Vilyuya.

Images from space are now intensively used in glaciology; they are the main source material. Practically, all space pioneers, especially participants in long-term space flights, successfully solve various thematic mapping problems. In our country, forests occupy more than half of the territory . Information on the many characteristics of this forest fund is enormous and must be updated regularly. Gigantic volumes of operational, comprehensive and at the same time detailed information are unthinkable without the help of astronauts and space photography. Practice has already proven that space mapping of forests is a necessary link in their study and resource management. Regular space mapping of changes occurring in forests is very important for preventing and localizing harmful impacts and solving environmental protection problems. Only with the help of space technology is it possible to obtain information about the sanitary condition of forests, and with the help of daily surveys from Meteor satellites, data on the fire situation in forests can be obtained.

Space-based continuous mapping of the state of the environment is today referred to as “monitoring.” The range of means and methods of a cartographer is becoming wider: from cosmic heights to underwater depths, but everywhere - at the control panel of a space topographer - a planetary rover, at an ordinary theodolite, there is a person creating a map.

Types of filming.

Space photography is carried out using different methods (Fig. “Classification of space images by spectral ranges and imaging technology”).

The nature covering the earth's surface with satellite images, the following surveys can be distinguished:

single photograph,

route,

sighting,

global survey.

Single (selective) photography is carried out by astronauts with hand-held cameras. The photographs are usually taken in perspective with significant angles of inclination.

Route shooting the earth's surface is carried out along the satellite flight path. The width of the shooting swath depends on the flight altitude and viewing angle of the shooting system.

Sighting (selective) shooting designed to obtain images of specially designated areas of the earth's surface away from the route.

Global filming produced from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites. satellites. Four or five geostationary satellites in equatorial orbit provide almost continuous acquisition of small-scale survey images of the entire Earth (space patrol) with the exception of the polar ice caps.

Aerospace photo is a two-dimensional image of real objects, which is obtained according to certain geometric and radiometric (photometric) laws by remotely recording the brightness of objects and is intended for studying visible and hidden objects, phenomena and processes of the surrounding world, as well as for determining their spatial position.

A satellite image in its geometric properties is not fundamentally different from an aerial photograph, but has features associated with:

photographing from high altitudes,

and high speed.

Since a satellite moves much faster compared to an airplane, it requires short shutter speeds when shooting.

Space photography varies according to:

scale,

visibility,

spectral characteristics .

These parameters determine the possibilities of interpreting various objects in satellite images and solving those geological problems that are advisable to solve with their help.

Space cartography

Space images are especially widely used in cartography. And this is understandable, because a space photograph accurately and in sufficient detail captures the surface of the Earth, and specialists can easily transfer the image to a map.

Reading (deciphering) of space images, as well as aerial photographs, is based on identification (deciphering) features. The main ones are the shape of objects, their size and tone. Rivers, lakes and other bodies of water are depicted in photographs in dark tones (black) with clear identification of coastlines. Forest vegetation is characterized by less dark tones with a fine-grained structure. The details of the mountainous terrain are clearly highlighted by the sharp contrasting tones that are obtained in the photograph as a result of the different illumination of the opposite slopes. Settlements and roads can also be identified by their decryption characteristics, but only under high magnification. This cannot be done on printed copies.

The use of satellite images for cartographic purposes begins with determining their scale and linking them to the map. This work is usually carried out on a map of a smaller scale than the scale of the image, since it is necessary to plot the boundaries of not one, but a whole series of images.

By comparing a photograph with a map, you can find out what is shown in the photograph and how it is shown, how it is shown on the map, and what additional information about the area is provided by a photographic image of the earth’s surface from space. And even if the map is the same scale as the photograph, you can still obtain more extensive and, most importantly, up-to-date information about the area from the photograph compared to the map.

Mapping from satellite images is carried out in the same way as from aerial photographs. Depending on the accuracy and purpose of maps, various methods are used to compile them using appropriate photogrammetric instruments. It is easiest to make a map to the scale of the photograph. It is these cards that are usually placed next to photographs in albums and books. To compile them, it is enough to copy images of local objects onto tracing paper from a photograph, and then transfer them from tracing paper to paper.

Such cartographic drawings are called maps. They display only the contours of the terrain (without relief), have an arbitrary scale and are not tied to a cartographic grid.

In cartography, satellite images are used primarily to create small-scale maps. The advantage of space photography for these purposes is that the scale of the images is similar to the scale of the maps being created, and this eliminates a number of rather labor-intensive compilation processes. In addition, space images seem to have passed the path of primary generalization. This occurs as a result of photography being done on a small scale.

Currently, various thematic maps have been created using satellite images. In some cases, the characteristics of some phenomena can only be determined from satellite images, and it is impossible to obtain them by other methods. Based on the results of space photography, many thematic maps have been updated and detailed, and new types of geological landscape and other maps have been created. When compiling thematic maps, images taken in different spectral zones are especially useful, as they contain rich and varied information.

Space images have found wide application in the production of intermediate cartographic documents - photo maps. They are compiled in the same way as photographic plans, by mosaic gluing together individual photographs on a common basis. Photo cards can be of two types: some show only a photographic image, while others are supplemented with individual elements of regular cards. Photographic maps, like individual photographs, serve as valuable sources for studying the earth's surface. At the same time, they are additional material to a regular map and cannot fully replace it.

The appearance of the Earth is constantly changing, and any map is gradually aging. Satellite images contain the latest and most reliable information about the area and are successfully used to update not only small-scale but also large-scale maps. They allow you to correct maps of large areas of the globe. Space photography is especially effective in hard-to-reach areas, where field work requires a lot of effort and money.

Photography from space is used not only for mapping the earth's surface. Maps of the Moon and Mars were compiled from space photographs. When creating the map of the Moon, data obtained from the automatic self-propelled vehicles Lunokhod-1 and Lunokhod-2 were also used. How was filming carried out with their help? When the self-propelled vehicle moved, a so-called survey course was laid. Its purpose is to create a frame relative to which the topographic situation will be plotted on the future map. To construct the course, the lengths of the traversed sections of the path and the angles between them were measured. From each position of the Lunokhod, television filming of the area was carried out. Television images and measurement data were transmitted via radio to Earth. Here processing was carried out, as a result of which plans were drawn up for individual sections of the area. These separate plans were tied to the shooting progress and combined.

The map of Mars, compiled from space images, is less detailed compared to the map of the Moon, but still it clearly and quite accurately displays the surface of the planet (Fig. 55). The map is made on thirty sheets on a scale of 1:5000000 (1 cm 50 km). Two circumpolar sheets are compiled in an azimuthal projection, 16 near-equatorial sheets are in a cylindrical projection, and the remaining 12 sheets are in a conical projection. If all the sheets are glued together, you will get an almost regular ball, i.e. the globe of Mars.

The basis for the map of Mars, as well as for the map of the Moon, was the photographs themselves, in which the surface of the planet is depicted with side lighting directed at a certain angle. The result is a photo map on which the relief is depicted in a combined way - horizontal lines and natural shadow coloring. On such a photo map, not only the general nature of the relief is clearly visible, but also its details, especially craters, which cannot be depicted as horizontal lines, since the height of the relief section is 1 km.

The situation with photographing Venus is much more complicated. It cannot be photographed in the usual way, because it is hidden from optical observation by dense clouds. Then the idea arose to make her portrait not in light, but in radio rays. For this purpose, they developed a sensitive radar that could, as it were, probe the surface of the planet.

To see the landscape of Venus, you need to bring the radar closer to the planet. This is what the automatic interplanetary stations “Venera-15” and “Venera-16” did.

The essence of radar survey is as follows. The radar installed at the station sends radio signals reflected from Venus to Earth to the radar information processing center, where a special electronic computing device converts the received signals into a radio image.

From November 1983 to July 1984, the Venera-15 and Venera-16 radars photographed the northern hemisphere of the planet from the pole to the thirtieth parallel. Then, using a computer, a photographic image of the surface of Venus was applied to the cartographic grid and, in addition, a relief profile was constructed along the station’s flight line.

Currently, the problem of environmental protection is global. That is why space-based control methods are becoming increasingly important, making it possible to increase the volume of research and speed up the acquisition and processing of data. The main means of monitoring is a system of space surveys based on a network of ground stations. This system includes photography from artificial Earth satellites, manned spacecraft and orbital stations. The resulting photographic images are sent to ground receiving centers, where the information is processed.

What is visible on satellite images? First of all, almost all forms and types of environmental pollution. Industry is the main source of environmental pollution. The activities of most industries are accompanied by waste emissions into the atmosphere. The images clearly show plumes of such emissions and smoke screens stretching for many kilometers. When the concentration of pollution is high, even the earth's surface cannot be seen through it. There are known cases where vegetation over an area of several square kilometers died near some North American metallurgical enterprises. This is already affected not only by the impact of harmful emissions, but also by soil and groundwater pollution. These areas appear in photographs as a faded, dry, lifeless semi-desert among forests and steppes.

The photographs clearly show suspended particles carried by rivers. Heavy pollution is especially typical for delta sections of rivers. This is caused by coastal erosion, mudflows, and hydraulic engineering works. The intensity of mechanical pollution can be determined by the image density of the water surface: the lighter the surface, the greater the pollution. Shallow water areas also stand out in the images as light spots, but unlike pollution, they are permanent in nature, while the latter change depending on meteorological and hydrological conditions. Space photography has made it possible to establish that mechanical pollution of water bodies increases in late spring, early summer, and less often in autumn.

Chemical pollution of water areas can be studied using multispectral images that record how depressed aquatic and coastal vegetation is. The images can also be used to establish biological contamination of water bodies. It reveals itself by the excessive development of special vegetation, visible in photographs in the green region of the spectrum.

The release of warm water into rivers by industrial and energy enterprises is clearly visible in infrared images. The boundaries of the distribution of warm water make it possible to predict changes in the natural environment. For example, thermal pollution disrupts the formation of ice cover, which is clearly visible even in the visible range of the spectrum.

Forest fires cause great damage to the national economy. From space they are visible primarily due to the smoke plume, sometimes stretching for several kilometers. Space photography allows you to quickly determine the extent of fire spread. In addition, satellite images help to detect nearby clouds, from which heavy rain is caused using special reagents sprayed into the air.

Space images of dust storms are of great interest. For the first time, it became possible to observe their origin and development, to monitor the movement of dust masses. The front of a dust storm can reach thousands of square kilometers. Most often, dust storms sweep over deserts. A desert is not a lifeless land, but an important element of the biosphere and therefore needs constant monitoring.

Now let's move to the north of our country. People often ask why there is so much talk about the need to protect the nature of Siberia and the Far East? After all, the intensity of the impact on it is still many times less than in the central regions.

The fact is that the nature of the North is much more vulnerable. Anyone who has been there knows that after an all-terrain vehicle passes through the tundra, the soil cover is not restored and surface erosion develops. The purification of water basins occurs tens of times slower than usual, and even a small newly paved road can cause a difficult-to-reversible change in the natural situation.

The northern territories of our country extend over 11 million km 2 . This is taiga, forest-tundra, tundra. Despite the difficult living conditions and logistical difficulties, more and more cities are appearing in the North, and the population is increasing. In connection with the intensive development of the territory of the North, the lack of initial data for the design of settlements and industrial facilities is especially acute. That is why space exploration of these areas is so relevant today.

Currently, two related methods - cartographic and aerospace - closely interact in the study of nature, economy and population. The prerequisites for such interaction are embedded in the properties of maps, aerial photographs and satellite images as models of the earth's surface.

Conclusion

Space surveys solve various problems associated with remote sensing of the earth and demonstrate their wide capabilities. Therefore, space methods and means already today play a significant role in the study of the Earth and near-Earth space. Technologies are moving forward, and in the near future their importance for solving these problems will increase significantly.

Bibliography

Bogomolov L. A., Application of aerial photography and space photography in geographical research, in the book: Cartography, vol. 5, M., 1972 (Results of science and technology).

Vinogradov B.V., Kondratiev K.Ya., Space methods of geoscience, Leningrad, 1971;

Kusov V. S. “The map is created by pioneers”, Moscow, “Nedra”, 1983, p. 69.

Leontyev N. F. “Thematic cartography” Moscow, 1981, from. "Science", p.102.

Petrov B. N. Orbital stations and studying the Earth from space, “Vestn. Academy of Sciences of the USSR", 1970, No. 10;

Edelshtein, A. V. “How a map is created”, M., “Nedra”, 1978. c. 456.

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Brief description of the document:

On this topic:“Space photography. Types and properties of space images, their application in cartography"

Introduction(p.3)

Types of filming (p.6)
Space cartography (p.8)
Monitoring the environment from space (p.12)
Conclusion (p.15)
References (p. 16)

Introduction

Goal of the work: consideration of the essence of space photography.

So today we can say about space geodesy, or, as it is also called, satellite geodesy. We are witnessing the emergence of a new section of cartography, which it would be fashionable to call space cartography.

Images from space are now intensively used in glaciology; they are the main source material. Practically, all space pioneers, especially participants in long-term space flights, successfully solve various thematic mapping problems. In our country, forests occupy more than half of the territory sushi. Information on the many characteristics of this forest fund is enormous and must be updated regularly. Gigantic volumes of operational, comprehensive and at the same time detailed information are unthinkable without the help of astronauts and space photography. Practice has already proven that space mapping of forests is a necessary link in their study and resource management. Regular space mapping of changes occurring in forests is very important for preventing and localizing harmful impacts and solving environmental protection problems. Only with the help of space technology is it possible to obtain information about the sanitary condition of forests, and with the help of daily surveys from Meteor satellites, data on the fire situation in forests can be obtained.

Types of filming.

Space photography is carried out using different methods (Fig. “Classification of space images by spectral ranges and imaging technology”).

Based on the nature of coverage of the earth's surface with satellite images, the following surveys can be distinguished:

Single photography,

Route,

Sighting,

Global survey.

Single (selective) photography is carried out by astronauts with hand-held cameras. The photographs are usually taken in perspective with significant angles of inclination.

Route shooting the earth's surface is carried out along the satellite flight path. The width of the shooting swath depends on the flight altitude and viewing angle of the shooting system.

Sighting (selective) shooting designed to obtain images of specially designated areas of the earth's surface away from the route.

A satellite image in its geometric properties is not fundamentally different from an aerial photograph, but has features associated with:

Photographing from high altitudes,

And high speed.

Since a satellite moves much faster compared to an airplane, it requires short shutter speeds when shooting.

Space photography varies according to:

scale,

spatial resolution,

visibility,

spectral characteristics.

These parameters determine the possibilities of interpreting various objects in satellite images and solving those geological problems that are advisable to solve with their help.

Space cartography

Such cartographic drawings are called maps. They display only the contours of the terrain (without relief), have an arbitrary scale and are not tied to a cartographic grid.

Rice. 55. Fragment of a photo map of Mars

To see the landscape of Venus, you need to bring the radar closer to the planet. This is what the automatic interplanetary stations “Venera-15” and “Venera-16” did.

Monitoring the environment from space

The northern territories of our country extend over 11 million km 2. This is taiga, forest-tundra, tundra. Despite the difficult living conditions and logistical difficulties, more and more cities are appearing in the North, and the population is increasing. In connection with the intensive development of the territory of the North, the lack of initial data for the design of settlements and industrial facilities is especially acute. That is why space exploration of these areas is so relevant today.

Conclusion

Bibliography

Bogomolov L. A., Application of aerial photography and space photography in geographical research, in the book: Cartography, vol. 5, M., 1972 (Results of science and technology).
Vinogradov B.V., Kondratiev K.Ya., Space methods of geoscience, Leningrad, 1971;
Kusov V. S. “The map is created by pioneers”, Moscow, “Nedra”, 1983, p. 69.
Leontyev N. F. “Thematic cartography” Moscow, 1981, from. "Science", p.102.
Petrov B. N. Orbital stations and studying the Earth from space, “Vestn. Academy of Sciences of the USSR", 1970, No. 10;
Edelshtein, A. V. “How a map is created”, M., “Nedra”, 1978 . c. 456.

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§ 9. Image of the earth's surface on a plane. Aerial photographs and space images

Why do we need flat images of the Earth? You have already become acquainted with one of the models of the Earth - the globe. However, it is inconvenient to use it to solve most practical problems. The main advantage of the globe - its volume - is also its main disadvantage. To obtain a very detailed image of the earth's surface, globes must be enormous in size.

Therefore, most often people use flat images of the Earth's surface. What is the best way to obtain an accurate flat image of the earth's surface? For us, residents of the third millennium, the answer to this question is quite simple: we need to photograph it from above.

Aerial photographs and space images. Photographing the earth's surface from airplanes makes it possible to obtain a detailed image of all the details of the terrain (Fig. 27, a).

Rice. 27. a - aerial photograph; b - plan

During filming, the aircraft flies along straight routes parallel to each other. Special photographic cameras continuously take pictures. The terrain is thus filmed piece by piece. You can stitch together images of neighboring areas and get an image of a large area.

Satellite images clearly show clusters of clouds and giant air vortices, flood zones and forest fires. Using satellite images, geologists identify fault zones on the Earth’s surface that are associated with mineral deposits and possible earthquakes.

Space images are taken from satellites moving in orbit around the Earth. The coverage of the photographed area and the scale of the images depend on the altitude at which the satellite flies. The higher the satellites fly from the Earth, the smaller the scale of the images and the detail of their images (Fig. 28).

Rice. 28. Surface area of the Earth taken from different heights

Geographical objects on space and aerial photographs are presented in a form that is unusual for us. Image recognition in photographs is called decoding. Computer technology plays an increasingly important role in decryption. With the help of satellite images, geographical plans and maps are made.

Questions and tasks

Why is it necessary to depict the Earth on a plane?
Name the advantages of aerial photographs.
What information can be obtained from satellite images?

Today we have access to amazing images of the Earth from space.
How do we know what we see on them?

Global Forest Watch and other sources needed for your research (see guide 7 “Where to get the data”) use images of the Earth from space. Therefore, this guide for project participants will tell you how space images are obtained.

What is space photography?

As soon as man learned to fly and saw the Earth from above, remote sensing of the Earth (RS) arose - the study of the planet without direct contact with its surface, that is, at some distance, from a height. Space photography is the recording of celestial bodies and cosmic phenomena with instruments located outside the earth's atmosphere.

Types of satellites

Satellites use various types of sensors to detect electromagnetic radiation reflected from the Earth. Passive sensors do not require energy because they detect radiation emitted by the Sun and reflected from the Earth's surface. Active sensors require a significant amount of energy to emit electromagnetic radiation themselves, but they are irreplaceable, since they can be used at any time of the year and time of day (passive sensors cannot be used on the unlit side of the Earth), and can also be a source of radiation, not emitted by the Sun (for example, radio waves).

One of the main characteristics of a satellite image is its spatial resolution. It is expressed in the size of the smallest objects visible in the image. The image consists of individual colored dots - pixels. The fewer meters on the ground fit into one pixel, the higher the resolution and the more detailed the image can be obtained.

Depending on the resolution, there are three types of satellites.

High-resolution satellites are used for detailed exploration of territories, detection of ships in the ocean, construction planning; they are necessary when drawing up and clarifying plans for settlements, forecasting man-made accidents and natural disasters.

On satellite images high resolution It is possible to distinguish objects several tens of centimeters in size. In the forest, high-resolution images make it possible not only to see the crowns of individual trees, but often also to determine their species. In many cases, only high-resolution images can detect illegal logging if only a few valuable trees are cut down.

Satellites medium resolution are used in clarifying and updating topographic maps, forest research and control of industrial logging, forecasting unfavorable and dangerous natural phenomena (floods, forest fires, oil spills), and solving many agricultural problems (drawing up field diagrams, forecasting crop yields).

Satellites low resolution(several kilometers per pixel) when shooting, they cover large areas of the Earth's surface. Such satellite images are used in studying the atmosphere and cloud layer, compiling weather maps, determining land and ocean surface temperatures, and monitoring ice cover and forest fires.

Satellites and the electromagnetic spectrum

While humans can only perceive a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum (visible light), satellite sensors use other types of electromagnetic radiation, such as infrared light, ultraviolet light, radio waves and even microwaves. Rocks, soils, water, and vegetation reflect and absorb electromagnetic waves in different ways. Photography of the earth's surface in the visible spectrum is carried out during the daytime and in clear weather. Photography in the radio wave spectrum is carried out by special radar equipment at any time of the day, regardless of lighting and cloud conditions, so it has found wide application in studies of the polar regions of the planet (observing the ice conditions of the Arctic seas, searching for polynyas, studying ice thickness).

Specular reflection

Diffuse reflection

Analysis of satellite images

Satellite images provide useful information because different surfaces and objects can be identified differently depending on how they react to radiation. For example, smooth surfaces such as roads reflect almost all the energy that hits them in one direction. This is called specular reflection. At the same time, rough surfaces such as trees reflect energy in all directions. This is called diffuse reflection. Using different types of reflectance is useful when measuring forest density and quantity, and documenting changes in forest cover.

In addition, objects reflect electromagnetic radiation at different wavelengths differently. For example, infrared light provides a lot of information about the nature and condition of vegetation. In the infrared spectrum, various tree species (including coniferous and deciduous forests), healthy and damaged vegetation are most distinguished.

In modern satellites, the image is divided into several spectral channels, each of which is transmitted and recorded separately. Each spectral channel contains certain information, for example, the far infrared channel - data on the temperature of the Earth's surface. By using different combinations of channels and transmitting them in the final image in different colors of the visible spectrum, you can get different color variations of the same image. Although the colors in such images appear “unnatural,” to an experienced decipherer they can tell the visible world a lot about the earth’s surface. Such conditional colors are often used to emphasize differences in vegetation cover, rocks, moisture content, etc.

Space images

Space images- a collective name for data obtained by spacecraft (SC) in various ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum, then visualized according to a certain algorithm.

Basic information

As a rule, the concept of space images is widely understood as processed Earth remote sensing data, presented in the form of visual images, for example, Google Earth.

The initial information of space images is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) recorded by a certain type of sensor. Such radiation can be either natural in nature or a response from an artificial (anthropogenic or other) origin. For example, pictures of the Earth, so-called. optical range, are essentially ordinary photography (methods of production, which, however, can be very complex). Such images are characterized by the fact that they record the reflection of the natural radiation of the Sun from the surface of the Earth (as in any photograph on a clear day).

Pictures using the response from artificial radiation are similar to photography at night with a flash, when there is no natural illumination and the light reflected from a bright lamp flash is used. Unlike amateur photography, spacecraft can use re-emission (reflection) in ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum that go beyond the optical range visible to the human eye and sensitive to sensors (see: matrix (photo)) of household cameras. For example, these are radar images for which the cloudiness of the atmosphere is transparent. Such images provide an image of the surface of the Earth or other cosmic bodies “through clouds”.

At the very beginning, to obtain space images, either the classic “photographic” method was used - shooting with a special camera on light-sensitive film, followed by the return of a capsule with film from space to Earth, or shooting with a television camera and transmitting a television signal to a ground-based receiving station.

At the beginning of 2009, the scanning method prevails, when transverse scanning (perpendicular to the route of the spacecraft’s movement) is provided by a scanning (swinging mechanically or providing electronic scanning) mechanism that transmits EMR to the sensor (receiving device) of the spacecraft, and longitudinal scanning (along the route of movement of the spacecraft) is provided by itself spacecraft movement.

Space images of the Earth and other celestial bodies can be used for a wide variety of activities: assessing the degree of ripening of a crop, assessing surface contamination with a certain substance, determining the boundaries of the prevalence of an object or phenomenon, determining the presence of minerals in a given territory, for military reconnaissance purposes, and much more. .

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Space rocket trains
Space Rangers 2: Dominators

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