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Lecture 6

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35 views26 pages

Lecture 6

Uploaded by

Mxolisi Mcineka
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LECTUR

E6

Aerial photographs and


orthophoto maps
WHAT ARE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHIC
IMAGES?

 Definition: any photograph taken from


the air
 Aerial photographic images include
aerial photographs, orthophoto maps
and satellite images (photographs
taken by either aircraft or satellites)
 These photographs give us a bird’s
eye view of the landscape – aerial
perspective
USE OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

 used as the data source for creating and updating topographic


maps
 construct accurate maps containing a great deal of information
about landforms, vegetation, and cultural features on the surface
of the earth
 Important tool for mapping, surveying, monitoring land use and
land cover changes (compare aerial photos from different years)
INFORMATI
ON ON AN
AERIAL
PHOTOGRA
PH
 Definition – distance between the
camera lens and the film
 affects the scale of the image captured
 long focal length will produce images which
FOCAL LENGTH look as if they have been taken close to the
ground
 short focal length lens will produce smaller
scale photographs which can look as if they
have been taken at altitude
SMALL VS LARGE
SCALE AERIAL
PHOTOGRAPHS

 Small scale image (1 :


25 000 or 1 : 50 000) –
cover a large area with
less detail
 Large scale image (1 : 3
000 or 1 : 5000) – cover
a smaller area but will
show ground features
in more detail. Better
for measuring objects
and mapping features
VERTICA
L VS
OBLIQUE
PHOTOS
VERTICAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

 most common type of aerial


photograph for remote sensing and
aerial survey purposes
 photographs that are taken directly
from above by aircraft flying
overhead (0° from the vertical)
 best time to take these photographs
is between 10:00 and 14:00 to
minimise shadows on the photograph
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF VERTICAL AERIAL PHOTOS

Advantages Disadvantages
The scale is the same in all parts of Detail is sometimes obscured by
the photograph shadows
The shapes of objects are correct There is too much detail which
makes it difficult to recognise small
features
Objects are not blocked
OBLIQUE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

 Oblique aerial photograph is a view taken by a camera angled to the vertical


 Two types:
 Low angle oblique – camera angled at 30o to the vertical. Taken further away from the ground
and cover a smaller area but give you a clearer view of the area.

 High angle oblique – camera angled at 60o to the vertical. Taken closer to the ground and
cover a larger area.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF OBLIQUE AERIAL PHOTOS

Advantages Disadvantages
Provide a more common view of Sizes of features are distorted
the landscape
Can determine the relative Cannot apply a scale to the map
height of various features due to the distortions
Certain features are hidden by
other features in front of them
IDENTIFYING LANDFORMS AND
FEATURES ON AERIAL
PHOTOGRAPHS

 Tone
 Size
 Shape
 Texture
 Pattern
 Shadow
 Site
 Association
TONE

 Tone varies with the reflectivity of the object, the weather, the angle of the sunlight on
an object, and on moisture content of the surface
Darker tone Lighter tone Reason

Irregular surfaces Smooth surfaces smooth surfaces reflect light and irregular surfaces absorb light

Clear water Muddy water light penetrates clear water and reflects off muddy water

Still water Wind-swept water waves scatter reflection of light

Wet ground Dry ground wet ground absorbs more light

Vegetation cover Bare ground cover absorbs light (sand appears white

Ploughed fields Bare fields (fallow) ploughing breaks the reflecting surface

Mature crops New crops taller crops absorb more light

Rivers Roads tar roads appear white because they reflect light (even though they
look dark to us on
Summer vegetation Winter vegetation trees lose leaves in winter
SIZE

 measure of the object's surface area


 size of objects must be considered in the
context of the scale of a photograph
 Eg: scale will help you determine if an object
is a small pond or a large lake. Major
highways can be distinguished from smaller
roads. Long rivers can be distinguished from
smaller tributaries
SHAPE

 refers to the general form, configuration


or outline of individual objects
 Cultural and built objects such as
buildings, shopping malls and roads
have regular geometric shapes and
distinct boundaries
 The shapes of natural features such as
rivers, sand dunes and mountains are
irregular and uneven
TEXTURE

 Texture may be described as coarse or fine, smooth or rough, even or uneven,


speckled,
 granular, linear, woolly, and so on
 It is a way of describing the smoothness or coarseness of the image on the photo
 Texture also describes the terrain surface roughness
Land use/cover Characteristic
Cultivation Crops have a speckled appearance
Ploughed field look striped and darker
Orchards and vineyards Orchards have coarse and grid-like texture
Vineyards have a finer and striped texture
Forests and plantations Appear mottled and coarse
Pine plantations look stippled and finer
Blue gum plantations look granular,
coarser
Younger plantations appear striped
PATTERN

 Refers to the spatial arrangements of


objects
 Manmade features – more regular
patterns (Railway lines appear as thin
lines with gentle curves and gradual
junctions. Roads are wider and have
right-angle junctions. Cultural
features are regular and have a
definite pattern. Buildings –
rectangular shape)
 Natural features – more irregular
patterns
SHADOW

 Objects cast shadows visible on photograph


 Objects can be recognised by their shadows alone: power lines, high buildings, cooling
towers, water towers.
 Tall, thin objects, such as church steeples, telegraph poles, lighthouses and factory
chimneys, may be too small to be seen from directly above. Their shadows show their
positions and shapes
 Shadows that fall outwards indicate a higher area such as a hillside, mountain, or high
building
 Shadows falling inward indicate lower lying areas such as riverbeds and excavations
 Long shadows obscure certain features, so photographs are not taken too early or too
late in the day. The best time is two hours before and two hours after noon.
 Shadows also indicate direction, and this helps the reader to orientate a photograph. In
the southern hemisphere shadows generally point southwards as the sun lies to the
north..
SITE

 Refers to geographic location


 especially important in identifying vegetation types and
landforms
 Some (common) features (landforms/vegetation
types/structures) are found in certain areas only – can easily be
identified on an aerial photograph as they are expected here
ASSOCIATION

 Associating the presence of one object


with another, or relating it to its
environment, can help identify the
object
 industrial buildings often have access to
railway sidings; nuclear power plants are
often located beside large bodies of
water)
ORTHOPHOTO MAPS

 Orthophotos were first made from many vertical aerial


photographs that partly covered one another. This was
done to create scale corrected images
 Orthophoto maps are made by adding map information to
the orthophotos
 An orthophoto map is a combination of a map and a
photograph
 It has a larger scale (1:10 000) than the topographic map,
so features appear larger.
 It is more representative of reality than the topographic
map
 Orthophoto maps can have contour lines superimposed on
them to provide a sense of the relief of the landscape. In
this way they can provide critical information about where
to build or to assess areas most at risk during flooding
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF ORTHOPHOTO MAPS

Advantages Disadvantages
Orthophoto maps have a large scale of Orthophoto mapping is not yet
1:10 000 so features can be seen quite available for the whole of South Africa
easily
Orthophoto mapping is quick and easy New full-colour orthophoto images
to use for updating maps have been made available to the
general public only recently, so are
difficult to get
Most urban areas and major growth
points are covered

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