Thermal Remote Sensing: Concepts, Issues and Applications

In the last few decades remote sensing has reached from an experimental to an operational level. The increase in the number of earth observation satellites, the advancement in tools and processing techniques, and the use of data for new applications has been phenomenal. However, the major part of the efforts were directed in the past towards the use of optical data and now also to the use of microwave data. The available literature underlines the fact that the use of data acquired in the thermal infrared region has been relatively limited within the scientific and application community. The limited use of thermal data is linked to several facts such as the limitation of the sensor capabilities, the nature of data itself, and the reluctance of many to explore the potentials of thermal remote sensing. This paper deals with the concepts and issues of thermal remote sensing and presents a variety of applications where thermal data finds its way. The benefits and limitations of thermal data are discussed and the potential of thermal remote sensing, specially in light of future high resolution satellites, is highlighted. The paper concludes with the author's views on the importance of these aspects specially in the standard remote sensing educational programmes.