The module aims at providing a general background on the remote sensing systems for Earth Observation from airborne, and espe-cially space-borne platforms that operate in different regions of the electromagnetic spectra.
It provides the fundamental knowledge about the physical bases for remotely sensing the Earth, and in particular the electromagnetic foundation and models describing the emission, absorption and scattering of the radiation by natural media (atmosphere, sea, land) which are required for data interpretation.
It describes, using a system approach, the characteristics of the system to be specified to fulfil the final user requirements in different application domains. It reviews the technical principles of the main sensors operating in different ranges of the electromagnetic spec-trum and illustrates the constraints due to the system (sensor, orbit, etc) in matching the user requirements. It provides an overview of the most important applications and bio-geophysical parameters (of the atmosphere, the ocean and the land) which can be re-trieved in different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It reviews the most important techniques for data processing and prod-uct generation and proposes practical exercises using the computer to introduce the main processing steps. Finally, it provides an overview of the main Earth Observation satellite missions and the products they provide to the final user.
