Remote Sensing and GIS glossary

Representation of the backscatter dedicated for volume scatterer which is proportional to the projected area of the incident energy.

A geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the Earth's surface. Defined as the angle between the radius, from centre to the point on the reference ellipsoid surface, and the equatorial plane.

The science of accurately measuring and understanding three fundamental properties of the Earth: its geometric shape, its orientation in space, and its gravity field.

A geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the Earth's surface. Defined as the angle between the reference ellipsoid surface normal and the equatorial plane.

The hypothetical shape of the Earth, coinciding with mean sea level and its imagined extension under (or over) land areas.

Aligning geographic data to a known coordinate system so it can be viewed, queried, and analyzed with other geographic data. Georeferencing may involve shifting, rotating, scaling, skewing, and in some cases warping, rubber sheeting, or orthorectifying the data.

Remaining fixed over a specific location on Earth’s surface.

A Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) with spatial reference information.

A system of radio-emitting and -receiving satellites used for determining positions on the earth. The orbiting satellites transmit signals that allow a GPS receiver anywhere on earth to calculate its own location through trilateration. Developed and operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, the system is used in navigation, mapping, surveying, and other applications in which precise positioning is necessary.

A process that occurs when energy from a planet’s sun goes through its atmosphere and warms the planet’s surface, but the atmosphere prevents the heat from returning directly to space, resulting in a warmer planet.