Remote sensing applications in regional emergency management

Optical remote sensing and radar-based remote sensing are now increasingly used to detect hazardous materials. While the latter uses sunlight as the source, the former generates pulses of radiation in the microwave portion of the spectrum that are transmitted from an antenna toward the object under study. Among the two, radar offers the advantage of operating in all weather conditions and at night. The two techniques can be complementary, especially for oil spill detection and mapping. In another demonstration, a hyperspectral imaging system enabled North Carolina to determine possible contamination of water from pig waste.