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Fundamentals of Remote Sensing

2.5 Did You Know?

"...you just can't have it all!..."

...that there are trade-offs between spatial, spectral, and radiometric resolution which must be taken into consideration when engineers design a sensor. For high spatial resolution, the sensor has to have a small IFOV (Instantaneous Field of View). However, this reduces the amount of energy that can be detected as the area of the ground resolution cell within the IFOV becomes smaller. This leads to reduced radiometric resolution - the ability to detect fine energy differences. To increase the amount of energy detected (and thus, the radiometric resolution) without reducing spatial resolution, we would have to broaden the wavelength range detected for a particular channel or band. Unfortunately, this would reduce the spectral resolution of the sensor. Conversely, coarser spatial resolution would allow improved radiometric and/or spectral resolution. Thus, these three types of resolution must be balanced against the desired capabilities and objectives of the sensor.