---
title: "Uses and advantages of satellite imagery"
subject: "Surveying II"
chapter: 7
key: "semester_4/surveying_ii:satellite-imagery-uses-advantages"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_4/surveying_ii/satellite-imagery-uses-advantages
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Uses and advantages of satellite imagery

Surveying II · Chapter 7: Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing

- Asked in: 2070 Magh, 5 marks
- Video: [need & advantages of remote sensing|surveying lectures](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igVXRnSizg4) — Mahi study zone
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_4/surveying_ii/satellite-imagery-uses-advantages
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_4/surveying_ii/chapter-7

## Question

Describe the uses and advantages of satellite imagery.

## Short answer

Satellite imagery is used for land cover mapping, change detection, disaster monitoring, and agricultural assessment. Advantages include wide synoptic coverage, regular revisit, multispectral digital data, low cost, and integration with GIS.

## Answer

Satellite imagery is an image of the Earth recorded by sensors on satellites (e.g. Landsat, Sentinel, SPOT, IRS, WorldView) in different wavelength bands, usually in digital form.

#### Uses
- Land use / land cover mapping and change detection.
- Topographic and thematic mapping, DEM generation and urban planning.
- Monitoring of floods, landslides, glaciers, forest fires and drought; damage assessment after earthquakes.
- Selection of sites and routes of roads, canals, dams and pipelines.
- Water resources: rivers, lakes, snow cover and catchment studies.
- Agriculture and forestry: crop condition, yield estimates, and forest cover.
- Environmental monitoring of pollution, erosion and deforestation.

#### Advantages
1. Covers large and inaccessible areas in one image (wide synoptic view).
2. Repeat coverage at regular intervals allows monitoring of change over time.
3. Multispectral (and thermal / microwave) bands give information beyond what the eye sees.
4. Digital data is easy to process and combine with GIS.
5. Cheaper and faster than aerial or ground survey for large areas.
6. Many images are free or low-cost (Landsat, Sentinel), and the archive provides historical data.
7. Uniform data over political boundaries, and safe over dangerous areas.

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. Satellite imagery is:
   A. Hand-drawn maps
   B. Digital images of the Earth in different wavelength bands from satellite sensors
   C. Ground photos
   D. Chain survey data
   Answer: B. Landsat, Sentinel, SPOT etc. record the Earth in bands, usually digitally. (Key point: Definition)

2. Which is an advantage?
   A. Only small coverage
   B. Rare coverage
   C. Only visible light
   D. Wide synoptic view of large areas in one image
   Answer: D. One image covers large and inaccessible areas. (Key point: Synoptic view)

3. Repeat coverage helps in:
   A. Reducing the number of bands
   B. Monitoring change over time
   C. Avoiding GIS
   D. Increasing tilt
   Answer: B. Regular revisits plus an archive allow change detection. (Key point: Repeat coverage)

4. Multispectral bands give:
   A. Only black-and-white images
   B. Contact measurements
   C. Ground levels
   D. Information beyond what the eye sees
   Answer: D. Bands include infrared, thermal and microwave. (Key point: Multispectral)

## Related in other subjects

- [Ku-band HEMT amplifier: stability and gains](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Frf_and_microwave_engineering%3Aku-band-hemt-amplifier) — RF and Microwave Engineering, chapter 6