Natural Resources Canada | Ressources naturelles CanadaGovernment of Canada
Skip common menu bar (access key: Alt M)Skip institutional menu bar (access key: Alt 1)Skip all menu bars (access key: Alt 2)FrançaisContact CCRSCCRS Site HelpSearch the CCRS WebsiteGovernment of Canada web site
Canada Centre for Remote SensingHome page of the Canada Centre for Remote SensingDetailed Listing of this SiteTechnical publications of CCRS staffExplanations of remote sensing terminology.Natural Resources Canada
Staff and organizationCCRS research programsImages and SensorsLearning aids and reference materialsThe Canadian remote sensing community

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Sensors
3. Microwaves
4. Image Analysis
5. Applications

Home > Learning > Tutorials

Fundamentals of Remote Sensing

Chapter 3
 

3.2 Did You Know?

"....Just what do those numbers mean?!"

Typical output products (e.g. RADARSAT imagery) have used 8-bit or 16-bit data formats (digital numbers) for data storage. In order to obtain the original physically meaningful backscatter values ( sigma nought, beta nought) of calibrated radar products, it is necessary to reverse the final steps in the SAR processing chain. For RADARSAT imagery, this must include the squaring of the digital values and the application of a lookup table (which can have range dependent values). Thus, as you can see, the relationships among the digital numbers in the imagery are not that simple!

back to Section 3.2 Whiz quiz 3.2 Section 3.3
Updated 2002-11-27 go to top of page Important Notices