Commonly used Satellite Sensors

NOAA-AVHRR

DMSP-OLS

TERRA-MODIS

LANDSAT-TM

SPOT-HRV/HVIR

Spectral bands

1: red

2: NIR

3: MWIR

4, 5: thermal

1: visible

2: thermal

36 bands covering visible, NIR, SWIR, MWIR and thermal IR

1: blue

2: green

3: red

4: NIR

5, 7: SWIR

6: thermal

Panchromatic Band

1: green

2: red

3: NIR

4: SWIR

Panchromatic Band

Swath

c. 2000 km

c. 2000 km

c. 2000 km

c. 100 km

c. 60 km

Spatial Resolution

1 km

2.7 km

Two 250m bands and five 500m bands in visible, NIR and SWIR; 1km in MWIR and thermal IR

30m (multispectral);

15m (panchromatic)

20m (multispectral);

10m (panchromatic)

Temporal Frequency

Daily

Daily

Daily

Once in 16 days

Almost daily with 3 satellites

Applications

Detection of thermal emissions from active fires (hot spots)

Detection of light emission from night-time fires

Detection of thermal emissions from active fires; burn scars mapping; vegetation/land cover mapping

Detection and mapping of burn scars; vegetation classification and mapping

Detection of active fires; accurate location of fires; detection and mapping of burn scars; vegetation classification and mapping