Remote Sensing and Clay

Introduction: Remote Sensing and Clay (Soil Moisture Content)

Remote sensing is defined as the acquisition of information about the condition and/or state of a target by a sensor that is not in direct physical contact with it. This information is normally transmitted in the form of electromagnetic radiation (emr); hence it is a non-destructive, silent technology. The source of this energy may be 'active' or 'passive.'

The relationship between the 'source' signal interacting with a target and the 'received' signal being sensed provides information about the earth's surface and is used in remote sensing to characterize the surface. The information about an object is of 2 kinds: (1) it relates to the objects morphology (size, shape, and texture) from the way it is illuminated and

shadowed by its relationship to the source of light and; (2) the way light is reflected and absorbed by the object shows up as the object's brightness and color.

Remote sensing is both a science and an application. As a science we are interested in how electromagnetic energy interacts with the surface of the earth. As an application, remote sensing is a tool for observations to study, manage, and monitor range, forest, soil, and water resources.

Remote sensing 'sees' mainly the surface but this is the complex, dynamic interface between gas and solid, where human impact is first and most easily felt. It is an extension of our eyes in two respects: (1) we extend our eyes above a target for

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that can interact with the atmosphere through evapotranspiration and precipitation and that is available to vegetation. Accurate assessments of the spatial and temporal variation of soil moisture are advantageous for numerous applications and for answering diverse research questions, because soil moisture is a basic link between the hydrologic cycle and the energy budget of land-surfaces through its regulation of latent heat fluxes. Thus, measurement of soil moisture is important for the study and understanding of all surface biogeophysical process. This includes: (a) agriculture, where knowledge of root zone soil moisture leads to efficient irrigation management, increased production, crop yield estimation, and pest detection and control; (b) forest ecology, where soil moisture information can lead to better harvesting management and yields; (c) civil engineering, where soil moisture can be an important structural consideration or can help to identify geologic hazards; (d) water resources, where water-balance studies, hydrologic process studies, flood forecasting, drought assessment, and precipitation pattern analysis depend on knowledge of soil moisture stores; (e) climate studies, where changes in long-term soil moisture

Category: Science - R