The modern world never ceases to amaze us with new discoveries and achievements. Nowadays, people have enormous knowledge. The area of ​​his interests and activities are limited not only to the Earth, but also extend beyond its borders.

Science and technology serve people primarily to improve the quality of their lives and become the means by which more effective ways to solve economic, environmental and social problems can be found.

Today, data about our planet obtained from artificial satellites and manned spacecraft. They are called remote sensing data. This term, widely used today, is synonymous with the phrases “image of the Earth from space” and “space images of the Earth.” The main advantages of remote sensing include the possibility of monitoring (from the Latin monitor - one who warns) or regular observations of the dynamics of geographic processes.

Remote methods for studying the environment were known back in ancient Rome. In the 18th century people learned to take the first pictures-drawings of various objects using a camera - a camera obscura (from the Latin camera - room and obscura - dark). With the development of photography, it became possible to instantly obtain detailed and accurate images. First, photography of the area was carried out (from balloons and kites, later - from balloons and airplanes). The first space image of the Earth was taken in 1960.

For recent years The development of computer technology and GIS has led to the fact that satellite monitoring data has found application in the most different areas- from agriculture to geoecology. This made it possible to quickly respond to the slightest changes in the environment and prevent dangerous phenomena and processes.

One of the known uses satellite images- meteorology. Studying is one of the most difficult scientific and practical problems. The capabilities of remote sensing methods have made it possible to monitor vast areas in real time and track formation (determine the type and thickness of clouds, obtain its stereoscopic image, measure temperature, etc.). Monitoring the formation and movement made it possible to predict in advance natural phenomena dangerous to humans (hurricanes, tornadoes, tornadoes) and thereby prevent their severe consequences.

Space photography is indispensable in making weather forecasts, forecasting dangerous atmospheric phenomena, and in studying the Earth. It allows you to determine the location of local sources of pollution (thermal power plants, pulp and paper mills, etc.) and monitor the environmental situation in areas where toxic waste is buried.

Important practical direction use of satellite images - accounting natural resources. Remote sensing has greatly simplified the assessment of their reserves, especially in hard-to-reach areas. Thus, during the study, it became easier to calculate forest areas, determine the type of forest plantations and age of trees, dominant species and volume of biomass. Not only the mapping of forest areas has been simplified, but also the control over their preservation, including control over logging, the boundaries of water protection zones, etc.

Satellite data helps early (quick) detection of fires. It is known that if the area of ​​the fire is less than 5 hectares, its elimination is carried out by a landing party of only 4 people, that is, relatively easily and quickly.

Natural natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes and others, cause enormous economic damage and lead to loss of life. Therefore, emergency monitoring is very important. The use of remote sensing methods makes it possible to predict the occurrence of emergency situations, localize dangerous phenomena at the initial stages of development and, therefore, reduce possible damage.

Currently, Russian ground services control 27% of the forest fund area, 47% are under the protection of the aviation forest service. The unprotected area is 26%, or about 300 million hectares. Control over this area is carried out only using satellite imagery. With its help, it is possible to identify newly emerging fires even under a smoke screen, and in the event of a peat fire, even in the absence of an open flame.

Application of remote sensing in studying mineral resources allows you to study the conditions of occurrence of rocks and estimate the volume of proposed deposits. Effective use of satellite images when searching for oil, natural gas, coal, solving the problems of developing alternative energy sources, such as geothermal, solar and wind energy, as well as in the construction and operation of nuclear and hydroelectric power plants.

Space images are used to study water and biological resources, in particular to determine phytoplankton reserves and fisheries, and to study habitats various types animals.

The use of space images in agriculture makes it possible to increase the efficiency of land use, since they “see” areas with oppressive conditions and help determine where and how much fertilizer needs to be applied, where and how often to irrigate, and when the crop can be harvested.

The use of satellite images to study marine areas also makes it possible to solve various economic problems: to study ice conditions and control fisheries. In addition, they provide monitoring of temperature and salinity of water, and study of changes in the shelf coastline. Research organizations and companies engaged in seafood production and in the shelf zone and providing shipping and navigation are especially interested in remote sensing of marine areas.

Satellite images also make it possible to evaluate ice, which, together with the analysis of temperature indicators, makes it possible to predict the speed of snow melting and prevent floods. Detection and localization of ice on Siberian rivers, for example, makes it possible to avoid a sharp rise in water levels and associated disasters.

Development economic activity is inextricably linked with the use of natural resources. Their intensive consumption in the last century led to a significant deterioration of the environmental situation in many areas of the country. Satellite monitoring system helps to detect pollution in a timely manner water bodies and soils, air and places of oil and gas pipeline ruptures, assess emissions of pollutants from industrial enterprises and promptly combat the problems of deforestation and desertification.

Today there are practically no areas left in the study of the Earth that do not use space images. The use of satellite monitoring makes it possible to manage territories and make correct and timely decisions in the event of an emergency.

Let us recall that in order to decipher a satellite image, it is first necessary to determine what phenomenon (object) is depicted in the image and in what territory. Then - find the phenomenon (object) on the map, determine its geographical location, qualitative and quantitative characteristics.

Earth remote sensing (ERS)- obtaining information about the Earth’s surface and objects on it, the atmosphere, the ocean, top layer the earth's crust using non-contact methods, in which the recording device is removed from the object of study at a considerable distance. The general physical basis of remote sensing is the functional relationship between the recorded parameters of an object's own or reflected radiation and its biogeophysical characteristics and spatial position.

IN modern look remote sensing there are two interrelated areas - natural science (remote sensing) and engineering (remote methods), which is reflected in widely used English-language terms remote sensing And remote sensing techniques. Understanding the essence of remote sensing is ambiguous. Aerospace School of Moscow University. M.V. Lomonosov as a subject of remote sensing as scientific discipline considers the spatiotemporal properties and relationships of natural and socio-economic objects, manifested directly or indirectly in their own or reflected radiation, remotely recorded from space or from the air in the form of a two-dimensional image - a snapshot. This essential part of remote sensing is called aerospace sounding (ASS), which emphasizes its continuity with traditional aerial methods. The aerospace sounding method is based on the use of images, which, as practice shows, represent greatest opportunities for a comprehensive study of the earth's surface.

In all countries, requests from military departments serve as an effective incentive for the development of aerospace sensing. With the introduction of space methods and modern digital technologies, aerospace sensing is becoming increasingly important economically and is becoming an indispensable element higher education in natural history universities, turns into a powerful means of studying the Earth from local studies of individual components to the global study of the planet as a whole. Therefore, when presenting various aspects of aerospace sounding, it is advisable to consider it as a research method that is effectively used in all Earth sciences, and, above all, in geography.

History and current state of aerospace sensing

Remote sensing techniques have been used in Earth research for a very long time. Initially used hand-drawn pictures, which recorded the spatial location of the objects being studied. With the invention of photography, ground-based phototheodolite photography arose, in which maps of mountainous areas were drawn up using perspective photographs. The development of aviation provided aerial photographs with an image of the area from above, in plan. This equipped the Earth sciences with a powerful research tool - aerial methods.

The history of the development of aerospace methods indicates that new advances in science and technology are immediately used to improve image acquisition technologies. This happened in the middle of the 20th century, when such innovations as computers, spacecraft, and electronic imaging systems made revolutionary changes in traditional aerial photography methods - aerospace sensing was born. Satellite images have provided geoinformation to solve problems at the regional and global levels.

Currently, the following trends in the progressive development of aerospace sensing are clearly visible.

• Space images, promptly posted on the Internet, are becoming the most popular video information about the area for both professional specialists and the general public.
• The resolution and metric properties of open-access space images are rapidly improving. Getting widespread orbital images ultra-high resolution - meter and even decimeter, which successfully compete with aerial photographs.
• Analog photographs and traditional technologies their processing loses its former monopoly value. The main processing device was a computer equipped with a specialized software and the periphery.
• The development of all-weather radar turns it into a progressive method of obtaining metrically accurate spatial geoinformation, which begins to be effectively integrated with optical technologies aerospace sounding.
• A market for a variety of aerospace Earth sensing products is rapidly emerging. The number of commercial spacecraft operating in orbits, especially foreign ones, is steadily increasing. The most widely used images are obtained by resource satellite systems Landsat (USA), SPOT (France), IRS (India), mapping satellites ALOS (Japan), Cartosat (India), ultra-high resolution satellites Ikonos, QiuckBird, GeoEye (USA), including including radar TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X (Germany), performing tandem interferometric survey. The system of space monitoring satellites RapidEye (Germany) is successfully operated.

Schematic flow diagram of remote sensing of the Earth

Rice. 1

Figure 1 summarizes circuit diagram performing aerospace research. It includes the main technological stages: obtaining an image of the research object and further work with the images - their decoding and photogrammetric processing, as well as final goal research - a map compiled from photographs, geographic information system, developed forecast. Since it is in most cases impossible to obtain the necessary characteristics of the object being studied only from photographs without any field definitions, without referring to the “earthly truth,” their standardization is necessary. An important element image research is also an assessment of the reliability and accuracy of the results obtained. To do this, it is necessary to attract other information and process it using other methods, which requires additional costs.

Snapshot - the basic concept of aerospace sensing

Aerospace images- the main result of aerospace surveys, for which a variety of aviation and space carriers are used (Fig. 2). Aerospace photography is divided into passive, which provide for the registration of reflected solar or Earth’s own radiation, and active, in which the registration of reflected artificial radiation is performed.

Rice. 2

An aerospace image 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 to study visible and hidden objects, phenomena and processes of the surrounding world, as well as to determine their spatial position.

The range of scales of modern aerospace images is enormous: it can vary from 1:1000 to 1:100,000,000, i.e., a hundred thousand times. At the same time, the most common scales of aerial photographs lie in the range of 1:10,000–1:50,000, and space ones – 1:200,000–1:10,000,000. All aerospace photographs are usually divided into analog(usually photographic) and digital(electronic). The image of digital photographs is formed from individual identical elements — pixels(from English picture element— pixel); The brightness of each pixel is characterized by one number.

Aerospace images as information models of terrain are characterized by a number of properties, among which are pictorial, radiometric (photometric) and geometric. Fine properties characterize the ability of photographs to reproduce fine details, colors and tonal gradations of objects, radiometric indicate the accuracy of quantitative recording of object brightnesses by image, geometric characterize the possibility of determining from photographs the sizes, lengths and areas of objects and their relative positions.

Important indicators of an image are coverage and spatial resolution. Typically, research requires large-coverage, high-resolution images. However, it is not possible to satisfy these conflicting requirements in a single image. Typically, the greater the coverage of the resulting images, the lower their resolution. Therefore, you have to make compromises or shoot simultaneously with several systems with different parameters.

Acquisition technologies and main types of aerospace images

Aerospace photography is carried out in atmospheric transparency windows (Fig. 3), using radiation in different spectral ranges - light (visible, near and mid-infrared), thermal infrared and radio range.

Rice. 3

Each of them uses different image acquisition technologies and, depending on this, several types of images are distinguished (Fig. 4).

Fig.4

Images in the light range are divided into photographic and scanner, which in turn are divided into those obtained by optical-mechanical scanning (OM-scanner) and optical-electronic using linear radiation receivers based on charge-coupled devices (CCD-scanners). These pictures show optical characteristics objects - their brightness, spectral brightness. Applying the multi-spectral shooting principle, multi-spectral images are obtained in this range, and with a large number of shooting zones - hyperspectral ones, the use of which is based on the spectral reflectivity of the objects being photographed, their spectral brightness.

By conducting surveys using thermal radiation receivers - thermal surveys - thermal infrared images are obtained. Photography in the radio range is carried out using both passive and active methods, and depending on this, the images are divided into microwave radiometric, obtained by recording the own radiation of the objects under study, and radar images, obtained by recording the reflected radio emission sent from the carrier - radar photography.

Methods for obtaining information from images: interpretation and photogrammetric measurements

Information necessary for research (subject-related and geometric) is extracted from images by two main methods: decoding and photogrammetric measurements

Decryption, which should answer the main question - What shown in the picture, allows you to obtain substantive, thematic (mostly qualitative) information about the object or process being studied, its connections with surrounding objects. Visual interpretation usually involves reading photographs and their interpretation (interpretation). The ability to read photographs is based on knowledge of the decipherable features of objects and the visual properties of photographs. The depth of interpretive decoding significantly depends on the level of training of the performer. The better the decipherer knows the subject of his research, the more complete and reliable the information extracted from the image.

Photogrammetric processing(measurements) is intended to answer the question - Where the object being studied is located and what are its geometric characteristics: size, shape. To do this, the images are transformed and their image is brought into a specific map projection. This allows you to determine the position of objects and their changes over time from images.

Modern computer technologies for obtaining information from images allow solving the following groups of problems:

• visualization of digital images;
• geometric and brightness transformations of images, including their correction;
• construction of new derivative images from primary images;
• determination of quantitative characteristics of objects;
• computer interpretation of images (classification).

To perform computer decryption, the most common approach is used, based on spectral features, which are a set of spectral brightnesses, recorded by a multispectral image. The formal task of computer image decoding comes down to classification—the sequential “sorting” of all the pixels of a digital image into several groups. For this purpose, classification algorithms of two types are proposed - with and without training, or clustering (from the English cluster - cluster, group). In supervised classification, the pixels of a multispectral image are grouped based on a comparison of their brightness in each spectral zone with reference values. When clustering, all pixels are divided into cluster groups according to some formal criterion, without resorting to training data. Then the clusters obtained as a result of automatic grouping of pixels are assigned by the decipherer to certain objects. The reliability of computer decoding is formally characterized by the ratio of the number of correctly classified pixels to their total number.

Computational algorithms based on the spectral characteristics of individual pixels provide reliable solution only the simplest classification tasks; they are rationally included as elements in the complex process of visual interpretation, which still remains the main method for extracting natural and socio-economic information from aerospace images.

Applications of aerospace sensing in mapping and Earth exploration

Aerospace images are used in all areas of Earth research, but the intensity of their use and the effectiveness of their application in different areas of research are different. They are extremely important in the study of the lithosphere, showing the fragmentation of the geological basement by linear faults and ring structures and facilitating the search for mineral deposits; in atmospheric research, where images provided the basis for meteorological forecasts; thanks to images from space, the vortex structure of the ocean was discovered, the state of the Earth's vegetation cover at the turn of the century and its changes in last decades. So far, space images are used much less in socio-economic research. The types of problems solved using images in different subject areas. Thus, the solution of inventory problems is implemented in the study of natural resources, for example, when mapping soils and vegetation, since the images most fully reflect the complex spatial structure of the soil and vegetation cover. Assessment tasks and rapid assessment of the state of ecosystems are carried out as part of studies of the bioproductivity of the oceans, sea ice cover, and monitoring the fire hazard situation in forests. Forecasting tasks, the use of images for modeling and forecasting are most developed in meteorology, where their analysis is the basis of weather forecasts, and in hydrology - for forecasting melt runoff of rivers, floods and inundations. Research is beginning to predict seismic activity and earthquakes based on an analysis of the state of the lithosphere and upper atmosphere.

When working with images, all types of processing are used, but the most widely developed is image interpretation, primarily visual, which is now supported by the capabilities of computer enhancing transformations and classification of objects under study from images. Great development received the creation of various derived images from photographs based on spectral indices. With the implementation of hyperspectral imaging, dozens of types of such index images began to be created. The development of methods for interferometric processing of radar survey materials has opened up the possibility of highly accurate determinations of displacements of the earth's surface. Go to digital methods surveys, the development of digital stereoscopic photography and the creation of digital photogrammetric systems have expanded the capabilities of photogrammetric processing of space images, used mainly for creating and updating topographic maps.

Although one of the main advantages of satellite images is the joint display of all components earth's shell, which ensures the complexity of research, nevertheless, the use of images in various areas of Earth research has so far proceeded piecemeal, since everywhere an in-depth development of their own methods was required. The idea of ​​comprehensive research was most fully realized during the implementation in our country of a program of comprehensive cartographic inventory of natural resources, when a series of interconnected and mutually agreed upon maps were created from images. Awareness at the turn of the century environmental problems looming over humanity, and the paradigm of studying the Earth as a system has once again intensified complex interdisciplinary research.

Analysis of the use of images in different areas of research clearly shows that with all the variety of problems being solved, the main path to the practical use of aerospace images lies through a map, which has independent significance and, in addition, serves as the basic basis of GIS.

Recommended reading

1. Knizhnikov Yu.F., Kravtsova V.I., Tutubalina O.V.. Aerospace methods geographical research- M.: Publishing Center Academy. 2004. 336 p.

3. Krasnopevtsev B.V. Photogrammetry. - M.:MIIGAiK, 2008. - 160 p.

2. Labutina I.A. Interpretation of aerospace images. - M.: Aspect Press. 2004. -184 p.

4. Smirnov L.E. Aerospace methods of geographical research. - St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg University Publishing House, 2005. - 348 p.

5. Fig. G.U. Fundamentals of remote sensing. -M.: Tekhnosphere, 2006, 336 p.

6. Jensen J.R. Remote sensing of the environment: an Earth resource perspective. — Prentice Hall, 2000. — 544 p.

Aerospace image atlases:

8. Interpretation of multispectral aerospace images. Methodology and results. - M.: Science; Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. - T. 1. - 1982. - 84 p.;

9. Interpretation of multispectral aerospace images. System "Fragment". Methodology and results. - M.: Science; Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. T. 2. - 1988. - 124 p.

10. Space methods of geoecology. - M.: Publishing house Moscow. University, 1998. - 104 p.

Natural resource research methods

natural resources information

In conditions of intensive development of productive forces and population growth, the problem of rational use of natural resources becomes of paramount importance.

For the study of natural resources, remote methods of collecting and recording information with subsequent processing of the obtained data using digital technology are increasingly being used. This is greatly facilitated by the launch of a series of natural resource Earth satellites with equipment for sensing the underlying surface in the visible, infrared and radio wave ranges electromagnetic radiation small, medium and high resolution. .

A network has been created to receive information coming from artificial Earth satellites (AES) and its primary processing in order to eliminate noise and distortion regional centers, providing storage, replication and distribution of the resulting images. However, solving thematic processing problems requires the use of additional sources of information. For these purposes, satellite imaging facilities and ground-based data collection systems are being created.

Remote sensing is divided into ground-based and high-altitude sensing. Ground-based remote sensing studies are carried out at standard test sites or in real conditions during under-aircraft or under-satellite experiments. As a rule, they are carried out in conjunction with contact research, for which purpose they are created complex systems research

High-altitude remote sensing is carried out using airborne or space-based equipment.

Space-based assets transmit information that is necessary to solve most problems remote sensing natural objects. They are equipped with visible, infrared, radio wave equipment, data recording and processing devices.

Data received by collection complexes when solving thematic tasks subject to processing by manual or automated methods. By now, digital processing methods are becoming widespread.

Concept and tasks of space environmental monitoring

Space monitoring is constant observations, monitoring the state of the environment natural environment. It is carried out from a number of satellites.

Data from foreign satellite systems such as Landsat, Spot, NOAA, ERS, GEOS, MODIS, Sea WiFS, etc., as well as Russian satellite systems of the Resurs-O series, are widely used.

The special task of space monitoring is to identify those changes that are caused by human activity - anthropogenic and technogenic factors.

Space monitoring is a comprehensive observation of the earth's surface, atmosphere, hydrosphere, flora and fauna.

There are three groups complex tasks space monitoring:

Tasks related to monitoring the state of the entire geographic environment as a whole (global monitoring);

Tasks associated with specific natural and economic systems in a specific area or country. Changes in atmospheric composition, air temperature and humidity, and the presence of ozone holes etc. Individual forest areas are observed, their condition (infestation, fires, deforestation), river basins, individual lakes, migration of individual animal species, etc. are studied (natural and economic monitoring);

Tasks related to specific control of individual natural objects. Individual rivers and lakes associated with the supply of drinking water are subject to monitoring; recording industrial emissions, monitoring the cleanliness of air over cities (sanitary and hygienic monitoring).

These three types of space monitoring differ in scale, coverage of phenomena and different observation methods.

Full-fledged global monitoring in the field of tracking the atmosphere, oceans, seas and lakes is possible only by establishing international cooperation.

The common task for all types of monitoring is to monitor the environment, warn about the occurrence of undesirable and dangerous phenomena, and forecast the further development of natural phenomena due to the enormous impact of anthropogenic and technogenic factors.

It is believed that remote sensing methods were used in geography even in the pre-photographic period. This was associated, for example, with the study of terrain using drawn perspective images, which have long been known in cartography. Even Leonardo da Vinci (1500) raised the question of the possibility of determining the size and position of objects from their two drawn images. Later, a number of scientists, including M.V. Lomonosov (1764) and Botan-Beaupre (1791), were engaged in the practical implementation of this idea. However, only the advent of photography opened up previously unprecedented prospects in remote sensing of the Earth and its study based on photographic images.

Since the invention of photography by the French L. J. M. Daguerre and J. N. Niepce (1839) and the Englishman W. G. F. Talbot (1840-1841), and a little later the technique of obtaining color images by the Frenchman L. Ducos du Hauron (1868-1869) photography almost immediately began to be used to obtain ground photographs of the area for the purpose of studying it. Maps of the Alps and Rocky Mountains were created using ground-based phototheodolite survey methods (R. Gübl, V. Deville, etc.). At the same time, experiments were carried out on photographing the earth's surface from balloons - “from a bird's eye view” (F. Nadar - 1856, A. M. Kovanko and V. N. Sreznevsky - 1886), as well as from air kites and tethered balloons (R. Yu. Thiele - 1898, S. A. Ulyanin - 1905).

Experiments with the use of images taken from balloons yielded limited results, but already the first aircraft photographs made a revolution. Aerial surveys have been carried out regularly in our country since the 30s, and by now a half-century fund of images has been accumulated, completely covering the country, for many areas with multiple overlaps, which is especially important for studying the dynamics geographical objects. The main customer and consumer of this information is the Main Directorate of Geodesy and Cartography, its aerial geodetic enterprises that use aerial photography for topographic mapping of the country. In addition to it, one should name the departments responsible for researching the country’s resources, in whose system they have created special units“Aerogeology”, “Lesproekt”, “Agricultural aerial photography”. Through these units, aerial survey information becomes available to the geographer-researcher.

When using aerial photographs, the need arose quite quickly to obtain increasingly small-scale images, which, naturally, was limited by technical capabilities. Attempts in the late 50s - early 60s. editing large-scale images and generalizing them to small-scale ones did not bring the desired results. Therefore, in order to obtain appropriate images, it was important to increase the aircraft lift ceiling, and by the end of the 50s. American U-2 planes began to receive images from altitudes of up to 20 km. This is the same order of heights as when using balloons. But the advent of ballistic missiles and their use for photographing the Earth immediately raised this ceiling by an order of magnitude.

Already in 1945, the V-2 ballistic missile, launched from the White Sands test site in New Mexico, made it possible to obtain photographs from space from an altitude of 120 km. The subsequent series of launches of Viking and Aerobee rockets made it possible to photograph the Earth from an altitude of 100-150 km, and, for example, in 1954 the rocket reached an altitude of 250 km. At the same altitude in the early 70s. The territory of Australia and Argentina was photographed from the English ballistic missile "Skylark".

Despite the imperfection of the technique for obtaining images when photographing from ballistic missiles, they were widely used in the 60-70s. and are used to this day, mainly due to their relative cheapness when studying small areas. It is known to use these images to study vegetation, types of land use, including agricultural, for the needs of hydrometeorology and geology, and for complex studies of the natural environment.

A new era in remote sensing of the Earth has opened since the launch of the first artificial Earth satellites in 1957 in the USSR and the following year in the USA, although, in fact, the first launches did not pursue the goal of studying the Earth by space means. First flights of manned spacecraft former USSR and the USA - Vostok-1 (cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin, 1961) and Mercury MA-4 (astronaut D. Glenn, 1962) also did not set such tasks. But already from the time of the second manned flight of G.S. Titov, the Earth was photographed. WITH American ship"Mercury MA-4" also received the first photographic images. Hand-held cameras were used as filming equipment.

If the first flights resulted in dozens of photographs, then by the mid-60s. More than 1,000 photographs were received from the Gemini spacecraft, most of them on color film and with high resolution on the ground - up to 50 m. However, the shooting area was limited to the equatorial belts of the Earth.

Significant progress in obtaining photographic images was made by the Apollo flights, primarily from the point of view of optimizing the choice of photographic materials, developing methods for orienting cameras relative to the Earth, etc. spaceships This series was photographed for the first time (March 8-12, 1969) in different spectral intervals, which marked the beginning of multispectral photography. The first photography was carried out synchronously with four cameras using different films and different filters.

The Soyuz spacecraft flight program initially paid little attention to photographing the Earth, but since the end of 1969 it has been greatly expanded. The coverage of the territory was not limited to the equatorial regions, but still was not very wide. It is of interest to conduct subsatellite experiments to synchronize space surveys with aircraft and expeditionary ones. Multispectral photographs were obtained in 1973 by photographing with a nine-lens camera. Spectrography of the earth's surface was carried out from the Soyuz-7 spacecraft (1969), i.e., obtaining and recording the spectral reflective characteristics of objects.

Such subsatellite experiments made it possible to give objective assessment information content of various types of space surveys, lay the foundations of space methods of geographical research, establish the optimal ratio of space, aerial and ground surveys when conducting specific studies. At the same time, subsatellite experiments have acquired a large scientific significance, expanding our understanding of the transfer function of the atmosphere, patterns of generalization of images with a decrease in their scale, optical properties of geographical objects, spatial structure landscapes, etc.

High-resolution images on the ground (about 10-12 m) were obtained from the Salyut and Skylab orbital stations, for which spectrozonal surveys and new shooting cameras, for example MKF-6, as well as image processing devices were widely used.

However, with high image quality, photographic images are not taken systematically. Only in in some cases It is possible to obtain repeated images of the same territory. Due to the sporadic nature of filming and difficulties associated with cloudiness, regular coverage of the territory by this type of filming is not yet provided, so television filming has become widespread. Its advantages over conventional photography also include receiving signals in a form convenient for their automated recording on Earth, storage and processing on a computer. In this case, there is no need to return film cassettes to Earth.

The first television images of the Earth were carried out from the American meteorological satellites "Tiros" in the early 60s. In our country, the first television photographs of the Earth were carried out from Cosmos satellites. Thus, the work of two of them (“Cosmos-144” and “Cosmos-156”) made it possible to create a meteorological system, which subsequently grew into a special weather service (the Meteor system).

Global television imaging of the Earth was carried out by ESSA satellites. Despite a number of difficulties associated with distortions arising due to the sphericity of the Earth when covering large areas(up to 6 million km) and relatively low resolution on the ground, they have found wide application in geographical research in the study of snow cover, soil moisture, atmospheric processes, etc.

Television images began to be received from resource satellites. This includes images of Soviet satellites operating under the Meteor - Nature program and American Landsat satellites. Images obtained using the Fragment equipment (Meteor) and the MSS multispectral scanning system (Landsat) are characterized by a terrain resolution of about 100 m. It is important that the shooting is carried out in four ranges of the visible and near-infrared parts of the spectrum and it is possible to obtain color synthesized images.

Good quality scanner images, especially color synthesized images, highlight generally the same objects as photographic images, but at the same time ensure regular repeatability of shooting and the convenience of automated processing of images received in digital form. Therefore, while maintaining all of the above wide range tasks solved using these images, the first place when using scanner images is given to the tasks of operational monitoring of the state of the natural environment and anthropogenic formations, their changes, including seasonal ones.

The first satellite aimed at studying the Earth's natural resources was ERTS, which provided a terrain resolution of 50-100 m. Imagery from the Landsat-4 satellite using the Thematic catographer equipment made it possible to achieve a resolution of 30 m with an increase in the number of spectral channels in the visible and near-infrared region of the spectrum up to 6. Images from the French satellite “Spot” have even greater resolution (up to 10 m), which ensures the receipt of stereo pairs, as well as regular repetition of shooting. To study natural resources, multispectral imaging by television scanning systems of the Meteor satellites is also used.

Since 1972, with the introduction into operation of the first resource artificial Earth satellite (AES) "ERTS-1", and then subsequent ones, providing high-quality regular imaging of the earth's surface with a frequency of 18 days with great visibility and high spatial resolution, easily accessible to consumers, began the most fruitful period in the use of space imagery materials in scientific and practical purposes in many countries of the world. New geographical discoveries were made, deposits of various minerals were discovered, etc. This research method has become firmly established in many geosciences, which has made it possible to significantly expand the capabilities of traditional geographical research and rise to a higher level of knowledge of the laws of the structure and functioning of the geographical shell of the Earth.

In our country, for national economic purposes, the Resurs-F satellite was put into operation, providing synchronous multispectral and multi-scale photography of the earth's surface. Black-and-white photography in three zones of the visible and near-IR spectral regions, as well as spectrozonal imaging, is carried out on scales of 1:1000000 and 1:200000 with a spatial resolution of images of 30 and 10 m, respectively. Space imaging materials obtained from this satellite have found wide application V scientific research And various industries farms. Its importance is especially great for complex and thematic mapping of the earth's surface. Currently, the use of satellite images has become the norm in cartographic production. They are used in the compilation of original and updating previously created maps, providing high accuracy in conveying the configuration of mapped objects, obtaining comparable information about objects and phenomena distributed over large areas in one time period, and also guaranteeing the necessary frequency of surveying for modern map updating. Satellite photography materials formed the basis for the compilation of a new type of cartographic products - topographic, general geographic and thematic photo maps of various scales. In 1978, the first cosmophototectonic map of the Aral-Caspian region at a scale of 1:2500000 was created. Color and black-and-white photographic maps and photoatlases of individual states and continents have been published abroad.

It should be said that the object of television filming is not only the Earth, but also a number of other planets or cosmic bodies. You can recall the shooting of the Moon by the station “Luna”, “Surveyor”, “Ranger”, Venus - “Venus”; Mars, Venus, Mercury - from the Mariner and Viking spacecraft; shooting of Halley's comet, etc.

Let us also mention photographic television photographs, which combine the advantages of the photographic method, and, above all, high resolution on the ground, and television. The first photo-television images were obtained by the stations “Luna-3” and “Zond-3” for the side of the Moon invisible from the Earth, Mars - “Mars-4” and “Mars-5”, etc.

In order to popularize space photography materials, a number of countries produce well-illustrated albums and atlases of color images obtained from Soviet and American space aircraft. Among them, the monograph “Planet Earth from Space” (1987), published in the USSR, the joint Soviet-American publication “Our Home is Earth” (1988), domestic albums on the method of deciphering multispectral aerospace images (1982, 1988), an atlas of North America published in the USA (1987), albums of photographs of the earth's surface published in Germany (1981), a national photo atlas in Hungary and many others.

In our country, two centers for receiving, primary processing and dissemination of space information have been organized - the State Scientific and Production Center "Nature" (State Center "Nature") for working with photographic information of long-term use and the State Research Center for Natural Resources Research (GosNITSIPR) for working with operational scanner information.

In addition to drawing up shooting programs and accumulating the received materials, the centers perform their primary processing - linking, annotating, facilitating their further use. At the request of consumers, more complex types of processing and various types of image transformations are also performed. Operational information intended for automated processing can be obtained in the form of magnetic tapes for ease of use when working on a computer.

Remote sensing technology ( a. remote sensing, distances methods; n. Fernerkundung; f. teledetection; And. metodos a distance), - common name methods for studying ground-based and space objects. bodies in a non-contact way means. distance (eg from the air or from space) dec. devices in different regions of the spectrum. D. m. allow one to evaluate the regional characteristics of the objects being studied, revealed on long distances. The term became widespread after the launch of the world's first satellite in 1957 and the shooting of the far side of the Moon by owls. automatic station "Zond-3" (1959).
There are active radiation methods based on the use of radiation reflected by objects after irradiation of their arts. sources, and passive ones, who study their own. radiation from bodies and solar radiation reflected by them. Depending on the location of the receivers, radio waves are divided into ground-based (including surface-based), airborne (atmospheric, or aero-), and space-based. Based on the type of carrier of the electronic imaging equipment, a distinction is made between airplane, helicopter, balloon, rocket, and satellite imaging (in geological and geophysical research - aerial photography, airborne geophysical imaging, and space imaging). Selection, comparison and analysis of spectral characteristics in different ranges electromagnetic radiation allows you to recognize objects and obtain information about their size, density, chemical properties. composition, physical properties and condition. For searches radioactive ores and sources, the g-band is used to establish chemical. composition of soils and soils - ultraviolet part of the spectrum; the light range is the most informative when studying soils and plants, cover, IR - gives estimates of the temperature of the surface of bodies, radio waves - information about the surface topography, mineral composition, humidity and deep properties natural formations and about atmospheric layers.
Based on the type of radiation receiver, radiation meters are divided into visual, photographic, photoelectric, radiometric, and radar. IN visual method(description, evaluation and sketches) the recording element is the eye of the observer. Photographic receivers (0.3-0.9 µm) have an accumulation effect, but they are different. sensitivity in different regions of the spectrum (selective). Photovoltaic receivers (radiation energy is converted directly into an electrical signal using photomultipliers, photocells and other photoelectronic devices) are also selective, but more sensitive and less inertial. For abs. energetic measurements in all regions of the spectrum, and especially in IR, use receivers that convert thermal energy into other types (most often into electrical ones) to present data in analog or digital form on magnetic and other storage media for their analysis using a computer. Video information obtained by television, scanner (Fig.), panoramic cameras, thermal imaging, radar (lateral and all-round viewing) and other systems allows you to study the spatial position of objects, their prevalence, and link them directly to the map.

The most complete and reliable information about the objects being studied is provided by multichannel imaging - simultaneous observations in several spectral ranges (for example, in the visible, IR and radio regions) or radar in combination with a higher-resolution imaging method.
In geology, geometric data are used to study relief, the structure of the earth’s crust, and magnetic and gravitational forces. fields of the Earth, theoretical developments. principles of automation cosmophotogeol systems. mapping, searching and forecasting deposits; research of global geological features. objects and phenomena, obtaining preliminary data on the surface of the Moon, Venus, Mars, etc. The development of D. m. is associated with an improvement in observation. bases (satellite laboratories, balloon aerial stations, etc.) and technical. equipment (introduction of cryogenic technology that reduces the level of interference), formalization of the decryption process and the creation on this basis of machine methods for processing information that give max. objectivity of assessments and correlations. Literature: Aeromethods geological research, L., 1971; Barrett E., Curtis L., Introduction to space geoscience. Remote sensing methods of the Earth, trans. from English, M., 1979; Gonin G. B., Space photography for the study of natural resources, Leningrad, 1980; Lavrova N.P., Stetsenko A.F., Aerial photography. Aerial photography equipment, M., 1981; Radar methods for studying the Earth, M., 1980; "Exploring the Earth from Space" (since 1980); Remote sensing: a quantitative approach, trans. from English, M., 1983; Teicholz E., Processing Satellite Data, "Datamation", 1978, v. 24, No. 6. K. A. Zykov.

• - surveys in agriculture, a set of methods for collecting, processing and using aerospace and space materials...

  Agricultural Encyclopedic Dictionary

• - Rice. 1. Van Slyke apparatus for determining the alkaline reserve of blood plasma. Rice. 1. Van Slyke apparatus for determining the alkaline reserve of blood plasma...

  Veterinary encyclopedic dictionary

• - in demographin, a set of techniques for depicting the patterns of development and placement of people, dependencies between demographics. processes and structures using styles. Compared to algebraic...

  Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary

• - 1) methods for studying the gas composition of blood, based on the principle of physical and chemical displacement of blood gases, absorption of released gases by chemical reagents and measurement of pressure in closed system before and...

  Big medical dictionary

• - a set of techniques that make it possible to study and predict the development of natural objects by comparing the inflow and outflow of matter, energy and other flows...

  Ecological dictionary

• - plant protection, a set of techniques for reducing the number of unwanted organisms with the help of other living beings and biological products...

  Ecological dictionary

• - solution method boundary value problems mathematical physics, which reduces to minimizing functionals - scalar variables, depending on the choice of one or more functions...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary in metallurgy

• - methods, techniques, means of ensuring the necessary control influence of executive authorities, local government bodies carrying out executive activities, their officials...

  Administrative law. Dictionary-reference book

• - I Van-Slyke methods gasometric methods quantification amine nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood - see Nitrogen. II Van Slyke methods 1) methods for studying the gas composition of blood,...

  Medical encyclopedia

• - methods for identifying histiocytes in preparations nerve tissue and various organs with the help ammonia silver or pyridine-soda solutions of silver...

  Large medical dictionary

• - methods for neutralizing waste containing organic matter, based on their heating as a result of the vital activity of thermophilic aerobic microorganisms...

  Large medical dictionary

• - methods for assessing assumptions about the nature of inheritance, based on a comparison of the observed and expected ratios of sick and healthy in families burdened with hereditary diseases, taking into account the method...

  Large medical dictionary

• - histochemical methods for identifying enzymes, based on the reaction of the formation of calcium or magnesium phosphate deposits in places where enzymatic activity is localized when tissue sections are incubated with organic...

  Large medical dictionary

• - radiometric methods based on the use of g-radiation. Based on the type of radiation, they are distinguished: Geographical-machines, which use g-radiation from g.p. and ores, and Geographical-machines, which use scattered g...

  Geological encyclopedia

• - remote sensing methods, is the general name for methods of studying ground-based and space objects. bodies in a non-contact way means. distance divers. devices in different regions of the spectrum...

  Geological encyclopedia

• - "...2...

  Official terminology

"Distance methods" in books

84. Methods of elementary mathematics, mathematical statistics and probability theory, econometric methods