Electronics Engineering | Course catalogue

EARTH OBSERVATION

Course objectives

ENG GENERAL The aim of the course is to provide students with theoretical and practical skills on Earth observation through remote sensing. The course will provide an overview of the sensors and techniques used to generate value-added products from satellite remote sensing measurements. The theoretical lessons, including notions related to electromagnetic modeling and sensors used, are supported by practical sessions aimed at processing remote sensing measurements for the generation of value-added products. SPECIFIC: KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING At the end of this course the student will know: - the main theoretical assumptions related to earth observation; - the main sensors for earth observation; - the main applications to generate value-added products starting from remote sensing measurements ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING At the end of this course the student will: - describe and interpret correctly remote sensing data; - know the principles underlying remote sensing measurements; - independently collect and process remote sensing data; - use the tools and appropriate skills for data interpretation and information extraction from remote sensing data. JUDGMENT ABILITY At the end of this course the student will be able to formulate an opinion: - on the quality of remote sensing data; - on the potential of each sensor with respect to the geophysical parameters to be observed;. COMMUNICATION SKILLS At the end of the course the student will: - use correct and adequate language for the communication of information extracted from remote sensing data. LEARNING SKILLS At the end of this course the student will: - independently investigate the main aspects related to remote sensing data; - independently process remote sensing measures in order to generate added value products related to earth observation

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FERDINANDO NUNZIATA Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program

Introduction to Remote Sensing: definition, history, advantages and applications. Electromagnetic energy: definition and fundamental physical laws. Interactions between electromagnetic energy and the atmosphere: atmospheric windows and absorption and diffusion phenomena. Interaction between electromagnetic energy and surfaces: reflection, absorption and transmission. Characteristics of observation systems for Earth observation. Operational characteristics of data: scale and resolution. Digital sensors for Earth observation: active and passive sensors. Types of satellites for Earth observation. Optical sensors Microwave sensors Image processing techniques: radiometric enhancement, geometric pre-processing and radiometric pre-processing. Satellite programs with open access data (Landsat, Copernicus, …). Applications

Prerequisites

Although no formal prerequisites are required, it is desirable that the student approaches the module with a basic knowledge of Mathematical Analysis and Physics.

Books

F.T. Ulaby and D.G Long. Microwave radar and radiometric remote sensing The University of Michigan press, Ann Arbor, 2014. W. Emery and A. Camps Introduction to Satellite Remote Sensing Elsevier, 2017, Netherlands.

Frequency

Exam mode

The exam consists of an oral test and a written paper. The exam will consist of two parts: an oral one and a written one in the form of a paper that the students will have to prepare and present individually or in small groups (maximum three people). The report, which must be delivered 1 week before the exam date, in the form of a ppt file, must be used to demonstrate the application of the concepts, methods and analyses presented during the course. The written document must be a descriptive and self-explanatory text, designed to provide a complete overview of the objectives, methods and results. All the topics covered during the course, and their application using the adopted software, are an integral part of the oral exam. The evaluation criteria used to compose the final grade include the evaluation of: ability to produce a concise, coherent and effective presentation (50%) ability to clearly expose the contents of the report and theoretical knowledge relating to the topics covered during the lessons (50%)

Lesson mode

The teaching is organized in theoretical lessons (40 hours) and exercises (20 hours) carried out using the SNAP software and software developed in the classroom in a Matlab/Python environment. The former are dedicated to the presentation of the theoretical and methodological aspects of the phenomena examined; the latter are aimed at understanding, from an operational point of view, the methods of management, processing and extraction of information from data acquired by sensors placed on board satellite platforms.