Remote Sensing refers to the science and art of obtaining information about an object, area or phenomenon through the analysis of data acquired by a device that is not in contact with the object, area or phenomenon under investigation (Lillesand; Kiefer, 2000). We can describe our surroundings better if we look around while standing at the top of a hillock then from its base. At the top of hill our eyes act as remote sensors, which receive the reflected light energy from the landscape around. This sensed energy gets converted into a stimulus, which reaches the brain where it is analyzed to obtain information about the landscape. It is here that the science of remote sensing works. (Rashid. H, 2002). The space application programme of the country is making a significant contribution in solving some of the major problems of natural resources management and conservation. The technique of remote sensing enhances the capability of surveying and monitoring the natural resources at an extremely low cost and high speed. The technique is especially useful in hilly terrain and inaccessible areas. Imagine the cost and time involved in conventional field surveys which can not be repeated at short intervals. In most cases, it has been observed that the data generated through such surveys become outdated even before the execution stage. Therefore, the technique of remote sensing enables to generated a cost and time effective near accurate database on the natural resources ASTER also has along track stereo capability. Accuracies obtainable from these stereo data are in the range of +/- 15m x,y and z with ideal conditions.
Remote Sensing in India
The history of remote sensing for natural
resources survey and monitoring in India started
with the launch of its first geostationary, sun
synchronous satellite named IRS 1A mission from
Russian launch vehicle VOSTOK on 17-03-1988.. The
quality of the data was good but no match to the
high quality imagery provided by the Landsat
series. This was followed by the launch of IRS 1B
on 29.08.1991. IRS 1B was followed by 1250 kg IRS
1C and it was launched on 28.12.1995 by Russian
built Molnia launch vehicle from USSR. The Indian
Space Research Organization made its first major
leap by launching 920 kg IRS P3 mission on
21.03.1996 using its indigenously built PSLV
launch vehicle from Indian soil. The IRS 1C
mission had two cameras LISS III giving a spectral
resolution of 4 bands, spatial resolution of 23.5
m, radiometric resolution of 7 bits and temporal
resolution of 26 days. Its Panchromatic camera
provided imagery with a spatial resolution of 5.8
m. The resolution merging technique enabled
generation of high resolution multi-spectral data
from the raw LISS III and PAN data and this earned
a huge market inland and abroad. The IRS 1C was
again followed by IRS 1D mission and it was
launched 29.09.1997 with the help of indigenously
built PSLV C1 satellite launch vehicle. The IRS 1D
provided imagery of similar quality as IRS 1C. On
26.05.1999, 1050 kg IRS P4 mission was launched
with the help of PSLV C2 satellite launch vehicle.
This mission was followed by IRS P6 and the
scientist community of ISRO is marching towards
new heights.
Remote Sensing in J&K
Jammu & Kashmir has a peculiar physiographic
setup which range from plains to Himalayan
foothills and from middle Himalayas to greater
Himalayas with picturesque valleys including the
valley of Kashmir. It has varied cultural, social,
religious and environmental setup. The state has
some of the most famous and ecologically fragile
lake ecosystems which demand continuous monitoring
using specialized tools of remote sensing and GIS.
The state has tremendous potential for generation
of hydroelectric power in the future besides
exploration of new tourist sites in the
inaccessible areas. Before such projects are taken
in hand, we need to conduct multidisciplinary
surveys of the catchments, and inaccessible and
ecologically fragile areas. The environmental
Impact Assessment of the all the major projects
need to be carried out using the technique of
remote sensing. The cities of Srinagar, Jammu, Leh
and other towns are growing at an alarming rate.
The city of Srinagar is growing at the expense of
productive horticultural plantations, wetlands and
water bodies and other green areas. There is
problem of drainage. Therefore, the planners need
to develop a scientific mechanism wherein major
inputs can be provided by the Remote sensing
Centre of the Department of Environment using high
resolution satellite data and Geographical
Information System. This would ensure
eco-development of the city and conservation of
its fragile lakes and other natural resources.
The J&K State Remote Sensing Centre has great
potential in providing real time digital database
for developing efficient decision support systems
for chalking out judicious management and
conservation strategies that could finally lead to
e-governance of natural resources in the state
besides managing natural disasters. Some of the
major applications of remote sensing and
geo-informatics are described here as under:
1. Flood damage assessment
The Centre has the capability to provide
real time information on flood damages in the
state. The centre has the necessary infrastructure
in terms of hardware and software to carry out
such studies. The data on villages and crop land
inundated during floods could prove to be
extremely useful for the district administration
to take rational relief measures on scientific
lines.
2. Human settlement analysis for urban
planning of cities and towns
The high resolution satellite imageries
like IKONOS, Quick bird and indigenous Cartosat
can be used to generate real time accurate and
detailed maps on urban land resource, road network
etc. to provide the basic inputs for planning our
cities and towns. This could help in updating the
master plans. Only the govt. needs to develop a
coordinating mechanism between the user
departments and the State remote Sensing centre
which in fact is possible if the centre is
reorganized and expanded to address the needs of
the user departments. So far the Centre has failed
to address the requirements of the user
departments because of lack of direction, limited
resources.
3. Agricultural Yield Forecasting
The seasonal remote sensing imagery
provides an opportunity to monitor agricultural
crop and to forecast the yield of various crops so
that the market prices are planned and regulated
in a more scientific manner well before the
harvesting stage. This can be one of the most
important inputs to the agricultural department.
4. States Forest Cover monitoring
The multidate satellite imagery enables
to monitor the forest cover of the state. The
resources within the forest department and the
State remote sensing centre can be pooled to
address the problem. The ultimate aim would be to
develop a forest information system which can be
accessed at various administrative levels to
increase the efficiency of management of the
forest land and its resources.
5. Monitoring of Lakes
The capacity of the State remote sensing
centre can be built to address the need to monitor
the lakes and other wetlands of the state in a
continuous manner. This can go a long way in
providing basic inputs to organizations like
LAWDA, Wular Manasbal Development Authority etc.
6. Environmental Impact Assessment of
Hydroelectric Projects
The state has tremendous potential for
hydroelectric power and the government has already
identified sites for laying out a number of
hydroelectric projects. As an important
prerequisite, the sites need to be environmentally
evaluated and remote sensing technique together
with GIS provides an opportunity to conduct EIA of
these projects.
7. Development of Tourist Resource
Information system
The J&K State Remote Sensing Centre
has the potential to identify unexplored
inaccessible tourism potential sites of the state
which can be brought on the tourist map.
8. Development of information system on
public amenities and natural resources
Under NRIS project, the Centre has
already completed the generation of a detailed
database on the demographic and public amenities
at village level for the entire state. This data
shall be made available to the district
administration and other user departments at the
district headquarters in the near future.
Mission
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Scientific investigation of state's natural resources through the use of space application technology and geographical information systems.
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To provide a mechanism of reflex action with regard to occurences of floods, droughts and other natural calamities, so that real-time base line information id generated through the use of remote sensing techniques to access the extent of damages due to such natural calamities.
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To develop an accurate digital database on natural resources, infrastructure and socio-economic profile of the state for developing efficient decision support systems useful in evolving judicious planning, management and conservation strategies.
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To develop a repository of digital as well as analog data on the natural resources of the state.