Practical Handbook of Remote Sensing, 2nd

Edition Samantha Lavender install download

https://ebookmeta.com/product/practical-handbook-of-remote-
sensing-2nd-edition-samantha-lavender/

Download more ebook from https://ebookmeta.com

We believe these products will be a great fit for you. Click
the link to download now, or visit ebookmeta.com
to discover even more!

Sea Ice: Physics and Remote Sensing 2nd Edition

Mohammed Shokr

https://ebookmeta.com/product/sea-ice-physics-and-remote-
sensing-2nd-edition-mohammed-shokr/

Remote Sensing of Turbulence 1st Edition Victor Raizer

https://ebookmeta.com/product/remote-sensing-of-turbulence-1st-
edition-victor-raizer/

Remote Sensing of Natural Hazards 1st Edition Jay Gao

https://ebookmeta.com/product/remote-sensing-of-natural-
hazards-1st-edition-jay-gao/

Forensic Engineering: Damage Assessments for

Residential and Commercial Structures 2nd Edition
Stephen E. Petty

https://ebookmeta.com/product/forensic-engineering-damage-
assessments-for-residential-and-commercial-structures-2nd-
edition-stephen-e-petty/
Grumpy Alpha s Mate 1st Edition Danie Clark

https://ebookmeta.com/product/grumpy-alpha-s-mate-1st-edition-
danie-clark/

Patterns of Movement in the Hebrew Psalter: A Holistic

Thematic Approach with an Exemplar, Psalms 69–87
(Studies in Biblical Literature, Book 147) Choi

https://ebookmeta.com/product/patterns-of-movement-in-the-hebrew-
psalter-a-holistic-thematic-approach-with-an-exemplar-
psalms-69-87-studies-in-biblical-literature-book-147-choi/

The Wheels on the Bus Kim Mitzo Thompson Karen Mitzo

Hilderbrand

https://ebookmeta.com/product/the-wheels-on-the-bus-kim-mitzo-
thompson-karen-mitzo-hilderbrand/

Foundations of Finance [RENTAL EDITION] Arthur Keown

https://ebookmeta.com/product/foundations-of-finance-rental-
edition-arthur-keown/

Making the Marquess Mine 1st Edition Karla Kratovil

https://ebookmeta.com/product/making-the-marquess-mine-1st-
edition-karla-kratovil/
Creative Interventions for Challenging Children and
Adolescents: 186 Techniques, Activities, Worksheets and
Communication Tips to Change Behaviors 1st Edition
Susan Epstein
https://ebookmeta.com/product/creative-interventions-for-
challenging-children-and-adolescents-186-techniques-activities-
worksheets-and-communication-tips-to-change-behaviors-1st-
edition-susan-epstein/
 Practical Handbook of
Remote Sensing
The number of Earth observation satellites launched in recent years is
growing exponentially, along with the datasets they gather from free-to-
access and commercial providers. The second edition of Practical Handbook
of Remote Sensing is updated with new explanations and practical examples
using the Copernicus satellite data and new versions of the open-source
software. A new chapter and new applications have also been added.
Thoroughly revised, the handbook continues to be a practical “how-to”
remote sensing guide for those who want to use the technology, under-
stand what is available, how to access it, and answer questions about our
planet but do not necessarily want to become scientific experts.

• Updated with recent changes and developments in the Earth

Observation industry.
• Updated to reflect the latest software and data versions, making
them easy to use.
• Introduces the Copernicus missions and gives users practical
examples of how to find, download, process, and visualize this
free-to-access data.
• Includes a new chapter on atmospheric remote sensing extending
the examples to atmospheric and climate applications.
• Brings in the latest and foreseen future scientific and technical
developments.

This book is intended for those with no prior knowledge of remote sens-
ing but who need to use the technology in their work, including profes-
sionals in administration, urban planning, environmental management,
and natural disaster. Undergraduate geography and geosciences students
who need to study introductory remote sensing will also find this book a
solid foundation for their studies and citizens interested in understand-
ing the environment and what can be detected from space.
Practical Handbook of
Remote Sensing
Second Edition

Samantha Lavender
Andrew Lavender
Designed cover image: Credit for the compilation of the front cover image goes to Samantha Lavender;
­i ndividual images are (top left: Data courtesy of NASA/USGS, bottom left: Data courtesy of U.S. Geological
Survey, top right: Data courtesy of NASA/USGS/Copernicus/ESA, middle right: Data courtesy of Copernicus/
ESA, bottom right: Data courtesy of USGS/NASA.) Individual images cited within the work.

Second edition published 2023

by CRC Press
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742

and by CRC Press

4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

© 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

First edition published by CRC Press 2017

Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher can-
not assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and
publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all ­material reproduced in this publication and
apologize to copyright holders if permission to ­publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright
material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint.

Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, ­reproduced, transmit-
ted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any i­ nformation storage or retrieval system, with-
out written permission from the publishers.

For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, access w
­ ww.copyright.com or
contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-
8400. For works that are not available on CCC please contact ­[email protected]

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data

Names: Lavender, Samantha, author. | Lavender, Andrew, author.
Title: Practical handbook of remote sensing / Samantha Lavender, Andrew Lavender.
Description: Second edition. | Boca Raon, FL : CRC Press, 2023. |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Summary: “The number of Earth observation satellites launched in recent years is growing exponentially,
along with the datasets they gather from free-to-access and commercial providers. The second edition
of Practical Handbook of Remote Sensing is updated with a new chapter, new explanations and practical
­examples using the Copernicus satellite data and new versions of the open-source software. Thoroughly
revised, and intended for those with no prior knowledge of remote sensing, the handbook continues to be a
practical “how-to” guide. Professionals in administration, urban planning, environmental management, and
students of geography and geosciences, will find this book helpful”– Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022049011 (print) | LCCN 2022049012 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032223582 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032214337 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003272274 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Remote sensing–Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Classification: LCC G70.4 .L38 2023 (print) | LCC G70.4 (ebook) |
DDC 621.36/78–dc23/eng/20221215
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022049011
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022049012

ISBN: 978-1-032-22358-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-21433-7 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-27227-4 (ebk)

DOI: 10.1201/9781003272274

Typeset in Palatino
by codeMantra
Contents

List of Figures.................................................................................................. xiii

List of Tables.....................................................................................................xxi
Preface............................................................................................................. xxiii
Acknowledgments..........................................................................................xxv
Authors.......................................................................................................... xxvii
List of Symbols...............................................................................................xxix
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations..........................................................xxxi

1. What Is Remote Sensing?......................................................................... 1

1.1 Definition of Remote Sensing.......................................................... 1
1.2 History of Remote Sensing.............................................................. 2
1.3 Principles of Remote Sensing.......................................................... 4
1.4 Usefulness of Remote Sensing........................................................ 5
1.5 Challenges of Remote Sensing........................................................ 6
1.6 Summary and Scope of the Book................................................... 7
1.7 Key Terms........................................................................................... 7
References..................................................................................................... 8

2. How Does Remote Sensing Work?......................................................... 9

2.1 Principles of Satellite Remote Sensing........................................... 9
2.2 What Does the Sensor Measure in Remote Sensing?................ 11
2.3 Electromagnetic Spectrum............................................................ 13
2.4 How Do Sensors Take Measurements?........................................ 15
2.5 Spatial, Spectral, and Temporal Resolutions............................... 15
2.5.1 Spatial Resolution of Data................................................ 15
2.5.2 Spectral Resolution of Data.............................................. 17
2.5.3 Temporal Resolution of Data............................................ 19
2.5.4 Resolution Compromises.................................................. 19
2.6 Summary.......................................................................................... 20
2.7 Key Terms......................................................................................... 20
References................................................................................................... 20

3. Data Available from Remote Sensing.................................................. 21

3.1 Optical Data..................................................................................... 21
3.1.1 Passive: Visible and Infrared............................................ 21
3.1.2 Active: Lidar....................................................................... 23
3.2 Microwave Data.............................................................................. 23
3.2.1 Passive: Radiometer........................................................... 24

v
vi Contents

3.2.2 Active: Scatterometer......................................................... 24

3.2.3 Active: Altimeter................................................................ 24
3.2.4 Active: Synthetic Aperture Radar................................... 25
3.3 Radio Data........................................................................................ 26
3.4 Distinction between Freely Available
Data and Commercial Data���������������������������������������������������������� 27
3.5 Where to Find Data?....................................................................... 29
3.6 Picking the Right Type of Data for a Particular Application.... 30
3.7 Summary.......................................................................................... 32
3.8 Key Terms......................................................................................... 32

4. Basic Remote Sensing Using Landsat Data......................................... 33

4.1 Notation Used for Practical Exercises within the Book............ 33
4.2 History of Landsat.......................................................................... 34
4.3 Summary of the Landsat Missions............................................... 35
4.4 Different Levels of Data Available................................................ 36
4.5 Accessing the Level 1 Landsat Data............................................. 37
4.6 Selecting the Level 1 Landsat Data to Download...................... 38
4.7 Scene ID............................................................................................ 43
4.8 Worldwide Reference System........................................................ 43
4.9 Downloading the Level 1 Landsat Data...................................... 44
4.10 Basic Viewing and Using the Landsat Data................................ 45
4.11 Landsat Known Issues................................................................... 46
4.11.1 Scan Line Corrector within Landsat-7 ETM+................ 46
4.11.2 Bright Pixels........................................................................ 47
4.12 Practical Exercise: Finding, Downloading, and Viewing
Landsat Data����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 47
4.13 Summary.......................................................................................... 49
4.14 Online Resources............................................................................ 50
4.15 Key Terms......................................................................................... 50
References................................................................................................... 51

5. Introduction to Image Processing......................................................... 53

5.1 What Is an Image and How Is It Acquired?................................ 53
5.2 Image Properties............................................................................. 55
5.3 Why Are Remotely Sensed Images Often Large in Size?......... 56
5.4 Image Processing Technique: Contrast Manipulation/
Histogram Stretching�������������������������������������������������������������������� 58
5.5 Image Processing Technique: Filtering Pixels............................ 60
5.6 Image Processing Technique: Applying Algorithms and
Color Palettes���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 62
5.7 Summary.......................................................................................... 63
5.8 Key Terms......................................................................................... 63
Contents vii

6. Practical Image Processing..................................................................... 65

6.1 Image Processing Software........................................................... 65
6.2 Installing the SNAP........................................................................ 66
6.3 Introduction to the SNAP.............................................................. 67
6.4 The Geometry of Landsat Level-1 Data....................................... 68
6.5 Landsat Level-1 GeoTIFF Files...................................................... 69
6.6 Downloading the Level-1 Product Bundle.................................. 72
6.7 Importing Landsat Level-1 Data into SNAP............................... 74
6.8 Practical Image Processing: Creating Simple Color
Composites�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 74
6.9 Practical Image Processing: Creating a Subset........................... 77
6.10 Practical Image Processing: Contrast Enhancement
through Histogram Stretching���������������������������������������������������� 78
6.11 Practical Image Processing: Color Palettes.................................. 80
6.12 Practical Image Processing: Applying a Filter............................ 81
6.13 Practical Image Processing: Applying the NDVI Algorithm.... 83
6.14 History of the Copernicus Program............................................. 85
6.14.1 Summary of Sentinel Missions........................................ 86
6.14.1.1 Sentinel-1A and 1B............................................. 86
6.14.1.2 Sentinel-2A and 2B............................................. 86
6.14.1.3 Sentinel-3A and 3B............................................. 87
6.14.1.4 Sentinel-5P........................................................... 87
6.14.1.5 Sentinel-6............................................................. 87
6.15 Practical Exercise: Finding, Downloading,
Processing, and Visualizing Sentinel-2 Data����������������������������� 88
6.15.1 Downloading the Sentinel-2 Data................................... 88
6.15.2 Importing Sentinel-2 Level-1 Data into SNAP............... 91
6.15.3 Practical Image Processing: Creating Simple
Color Composites�������������������������������������������������������������� 91
6.15.4 Practical Image Processing: Applying the
NDVI Algorithm................................................................ 93
6.16 Summary.......................................................................................... 93
6.17 Online Resources............................................................................ 95
6.18 Key Terms......................................................................................... 95

7. Geographic Information System and an Introduction to QGIS..... 97

7.1 Introduction to GIS......................................................................... 97
7.2 GIS Software Packages................................................................. 100
7.3 Installing QGIS.............................................................................. 100
7.4 Introduction to QGIS.................................................................... 102
7.5 Importing Remote Sensing Data into QGIS.............................. 103
7.6 GIS Data Handling Technique: Contrast Enhancement/
Histogram Stretch������������������������������������������������������������������������ 104
7.7 GIS Data Handling Technique: Combining Images................ 106
viii Contents

7.7.1 GIS Data Handling Technique: Combining

Data from Different Satellites��������������������������������������� 107
7.8 GIS Data Handling Techniques: Adding
Cartographic Layers���������������������������������������������������������������������110
7.9 Coordinate Reference System Adjustments within QGIS........114
7.10 Saving Images and Projects in QGIS...........................................114
7.11 Summary.........................................................................................115
7.12 Online Resources...........................................................................115
7.13 Key Terms........................................................................................116
References..................................................................................................116

8. Urban Environments and Their Signatures.......................................117

8.1 Introduction to Application Chapters of the Book....................117
8.2 Urban Environments.....................................................................117
8.3 Introduction to the Optical Signatures of Urban Surfaces......118
8.4 Introduction to the Thermal Signatures of Urban Surfaces..... 121
8.5 Urban Applications....................................................................... 122
8.5.1 Green Spaces and Urban Creep..................................... 123
8.5.2 Temperature Dynamics.................................................. 123
8.5.3 Nighttime Imagery.......................................................... 126
8.5.4 Subsidence......................................................................... 127
8.6 Practical Exercise: Spectral and Thermal Signatures.............. 129
8.6.1 Step One: Downloading, Importing, and
Processing Landsat Optical Data to Determine
Green Spaces�������������������������������������������������������������������� 129
8.6.2 Step Two: Downloading and Importing MODIS
Data to QGIS..................................................................... 132
8.6.3 Step Three: Combining MODIS Thermal Data
with Optical Data from Landsat����������������������������������� 133
8.6.4 Step Four: Comparing Thermal Data from
Landsat and MODIS........................................................ 134
8.6.5 Step Five: Example of ASTER Data............................... 135
8.7 Summary........................................................................................ 135
8.8 Online Resources.......................................................................... 136
8.9 Key Terms....................................................................................... 136
References................................................................................................. 137

9. Landscape Evolution.............................................................................. 139

9.1 Principles of Using Time-Series Analysis for Monitoring
Landscape Evolution������������������������������������������������������������������� 139
9.2 Landscape Evolution Techniques................................................141
9.3 Optical Vegetation Indices for Landscape Evolution............... 142
9.4 Microwave Data for Landscape Evolution................................ 144
9.5 Landscape Evolution Applications............................................. 145
Contents ix

9.5.1 Mapping Land Cover...................................................... 145

9.5.2 Agriculture....................................................................... 147
9.5.3 Forestry and Carbon Storage......................................... 148
9.5.4 Fire Detection................................................................... 150
9.6 Practical Exercise: Supervised Land Cover Classification...... 151
9.6.1 First Stage: Creating the Data Set Ready for
Land Classification.......................................................... 152
9.6.1.1 Step One: Installing Semi-Automatic
Classification Plugin into QGIS��������������������� 152
9.6.1.2 Step Two: Importing and Preprocessing
the Data.............................................................. 152
9.6.1.3 Step Three: Creating a False-Color
Composite.......................................................... 154
9.6.1.4 Step Four: Choosing Classification
Wavebands........................................................ 155
9.6.2 Second Stage: Performing a Supervised Land
Classification Using Existing Training Sites��������������� 156
9.6.2.1 Step Five: Importing Spectral Signatures..... 156
9.6.2.2 Step Six: Classification Algorithm and
Preview.............................................................. 159
9.6.2.3 Step Seven: Whole Scene Classification........ 160
9.6.3 Third Stage: Performing a Supervised Land
Classification with Your Own Training Sites��������������162
9.6.3.1 Step Eight: Creating a Pseudo-True-Color
Composite...........................................................162
9.6.3.2 Step Nine: Identifying and Selecting
Your Own Training Sites................................. 164
9.6.3.3 Step Eleven: Classification Algorithm
and Preview.......................................................167
9.6.3.4 Step Ten: Whole Scene Classification.............167
9.7 Summary........................................................................................ 168
9.8 Online Resources.......................................................................... 168
9.9 Key Terms....................................................................................... 169
References................................................................................................. 169

10. Inland Waters and the Water Cycle..................................................... 171

10.1 Optical and Thermal Data for Inland Waters........................... 171
10.2 Microwave Data for Monitoring the Water Cycle.....................174
10.2.1 Altimetry............................................................................174
10.2.2 Passive Radiometry......................................................... 175
10.3 Inland Water Applications............................................................176
10.3.1 Water Cycle and Wetlands..............................................176
10.3.2 Soil Moisture Monitoring............................................... 177
10.3.3 Lakes, Rivers, and Reservoirs........................................ 179
x Contents

10.3.4 Flood Mapping................................................................. 181

10.3.5 Groundwater Measurement........................................... 181
10.4 Practical Exercise: Analysis of the Aswan Dam....................... 183
10.4.1  Step One: Obtaining the TerraSAR-X SAR Data......... 184
10.4.2  Step Two: Loading the SAR Data into QGIS................ 184
10.4.3  Step Three: Downloading the Landsat Data from
EarthExplorer������������������������������������������������������������������ 186
10.4.4  Step Four: Importing Landsat Data into QGIS........... 187
10.4.5  Step Five: Creating an NDWI Using a
Mathematical Function�������������������������������������������������� 187
10.4.6  Step Six: Creating a Pseudo-True-Color Composite.... 188
10.4.7  Step Seven: Downloading the SRTM DEM Data........ 189
10.4.8  Step Eight: Loading the SRTM DEM Data
into QGIS������������������������������������������������������������������������� 190
10.4.9  Step Nine: Merging the Four SRTM DEM Tiles
into a Single Layer���������������������������������������������������������� 190
10.4.10 Step Ten: Adding Contour Lines................................... 191
10.5 Summary........................................................................................ 192
10.6 Online Resources.......................................................................... 193
10.7 Key Terms....................................................................................... 193
References................................................................................................. 194

11. Coastal Waters and Coastline Evolution............................................ 197

11.1 Optical Data................................................................................... 197
11.1.1 The Color of the Water.................................................... 197
11.1.2 Bathymetric Data............................................................. 200
11.2 Passive Microwave Signatures from the Ocean....................... 202
11.3 Coastal Applications..................................................................... 203
11.3.1 Physical Oceanography that Includes
Temperature, Salinity, and Sea Ice������������������������������� 203
11.3.2 Water Quality, Including Algal Blooms....................... 204
11.3.3 Mangroves and Coastal Protection............................... 207
11.3.4 Coastal Evolution, Including Sediment Transport..... 209
11.4 Practical Exercise – New York Bight........................................... 210
11.4.1 Stage One: Importing and Processing
MODIS L2 Data................................................................ 210
11.4.1.1 Step One: Downloading MODIS L2 Data..... 210
11.4.1.2 Step Two: Importing the MODIS SST
Data into SNAP..................................................214
11.4.1.3 Step Three: Processing the MODIS-Aqua
SST Data..............................................................214
11.4.1.4 Step Four: Importing and Processing the
MODIS OC Data in SNAP������������������������������ 215
Contents xi

11.4.1.5 Step Five: Download and Import the

OLCI L2 Product............................................... 217
11.4.1.6 Step Six: Save the Products............................. 218
11.4.2 Stage Two: Comparison of MODIS L2, OLCI L2,
and Landsat Data������������������������������������������������������������ 220
11.4.2.1 Step Seven: Restarting SNAP and
Importing Landsat Data.................................. 220
11.4.2.2 Step Eight: Importing the Previous
OC Product........................................................ 220
11.4.2.3 Step Nine: Reprojection of the OC Image..... 221
11.4.3 Stage Three: OLCI L3 Data............................................. 223
11.4.3.1 Step Ten: Downloading OLCI L3 Data.......... 223
11.5 Summary........................................................................................ 226
11.6 Online Resources.......................................................................... 226
11.7 Key Terms....................................................................................... 226
References................................................................................................. 227

12. Atmospheric Gases and Pollutants..................................................... 229

12.1 An Understanding of the Atmosphere...................................... 229
12.2 Detecting What Is in the Atmosphere....................................... 230
12.3 Air Quality..................................................................................... 231
12.3.1 Real-Time and Forecasted Alerts................................... 234
12.3.2 The Impact of COVID-19................................................. 234
12.4 Greenhouse Gas Emissions......................................................... 235
12.4.1 Observing Methane......................................................... 237
12.5 Practical – An Assessment of Air Quality and Temperature.... 238
12.5.1 Stage One: Adding Cartographic Layers...................... 238
12.5.2 Stage Two: Adding CORINE Land Cover Data........... 239
12.5.3 Stage Three: Downloading the CAMS Data Set.......... 242
12.5.4 Stage Four: Visualizing the CAMS Time Series.......... 245
12.6 Summary........................................................................................ 249
12.7 Online Resources.......................................................................... 249
12.8 Key Terms....................................................................................... 250
References................................................................................................. 250

13. Where to Next?........................................................................................ 253

13.1 Developments in Satellite Hardware......................................... 253
13.1.1 Instruments...................................................................... 253
13.1.2 Satellite Developments.................................................... 255
13.1.2.1 Smaller and Smaller Satellites........................ 255
13.1.2.2 Constellations................................................... 256
13.1.2.3 China.................................................................. 257
13.1.2.4 Democratization of Space................................ 258
xii Contents

13.1.2.5 High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite/

High-Altitude Platform Station...................... 258
13.1.2.6 Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles............................... 259
13.1.2.7 Sustainability: Space Debris and
Carbon Footprint.............................................. 259
13.2 Developments in Data Processing.............................................. 261
13.2.1 Accessing Online Data Sets............................................ 261
13.2.2 Onboard Satellite Data Processing................................ 263
13.2.3 Integration......................................................................... 264
13.2.4 Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence............. 264
13.2.5 Open Source and Open Science..................................... 265
13.2.6 Data Standards................................................................. 266
13.3 Developments in Applications.................................................... 267
13.3.1 Citizen Science................................................................. 267
13.3.2 Climate Quality Data Sets.............................................. 268
13.3.3 Repurposing..................................................................... 269
13.4 Developing Your Knowledge Further........................................ 269
13.4.1 Examples of Further Reading........................................ 270
13.5 Summary........................................................................................ 271
13.6 Online Resources.......................................................................... 271
References................................................................................................. 272

Index................................................................................................................. 275
List of Figures

Figure 1.1 Electromagnetic spectrum. (Courtesy of designua

© 123RF.com.)................................................................................. 4
Figure 2.1 December 28, 2014 data. (a) GOES EAST full earth disk
at 17:45 UTC and (b) all the orbits of MODIS-Aqua.
(Data courtesy of NOAA and USGS/NASA.)......................... 10
Figure 2.2 Process of solar irradiance being reflected by the
ground and received by the sensor.......................................... 11
Figure 2.3 Spectra for different (a) vegetation types, (b) minerals
that include clay soil, (c) water types, and (d) snow and
ice. (Data from Clark et al., 2007, USGS digital spectral
library splib06a. U.S. Geological Survey, Digital Data
Series 231. http://speclab.cr.usgs.gov/spectral-lib.html;
and Baldridge et al., 2009, The ASTER spectral library
version 2.0. Remote Sens Environ 113:711–715.)......................... 12
Figure 2.4 Electromagnetic spectrum shaded gray according
to the amount of passive solar irradiance reaching
the ground. (Based on a web-based figure created
by European Space Agency.)..................................................... 14
Figure 2.5 J uly 16, 2006 data. (a) An orbit of full-resolution MERIS
data. (b) Zoomed-in data to see the area of interest.
(c) Further zoomed-in data to see the actual pixels.
(d) Higher-resolution Landsat image with a pixel size
of 30 m. (Data courtesy of European Space Agency
and the USGS/NASA/GLFC.)................................................... 16
Figure 2.6 (a) July 16, 2009, SPOT image of Grand Cayman
and (b) December 14, 2004, QuickBird-2 image of
Bangladesh. (Data courtesy of ESA/CNES and GLCF/
DigitalGlobe [2004], QuickBird scene 000000185940_01_
P010, Level Standard 2A, DigitalGlobe, Longmont,
Colorado, December 14, 2004.)................................................... 18
Figure 4.1 Screenshot of the USGS GloVis Browser.
(Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey.)....................................... 39
Figure 4.2 Landsat-7 ETM+ scene from December 10, 2003,
displayed as waveband 1 shown for the whole scene
with the SLC artifacts. (Data courtesy of USGS/ESA.).......... 46
xiii
xiv List of Figures

Figure 4.3 Landsat-8 image of central Australia acquired on

March 10, 2021, with the approximate position of
Uluru marked on the whole scene and a zoomed-in
area to show Uluru in detail. (Data courtesy of the
U.S. Geological Survey.)............................................................. 49
Figure 5.1 The difference between pushbroom and
whiskbroom scanners................................................................ 54
Figure 5.2 Constructive interference occurs when the waves are
in phase, whereas destructive interference occurs
when the waves are out of phase.............................................. 55
Figure 5.3 (a) Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper waveband 1 scene over
Europe (path 188, row 024) with the accompanying
image histogram and (b) contrast-stretched version
with accompanying histogram. (Data courtesy of
ESA/USGS.)................................................................................. 57
Figure 5.4 (a) Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper waveband 1 scene
over western Africa (path 204, row 052) on December
5, 2010, having both water and land present, with the
accompanying image histogram, and zoomed-in area
contrast stretched to highlight the features in the
(b) land or (c) water. (Data courtesy of ESA/USGS.).............. 59
Figure 5.5 Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper waveband 1 scene
over western Africa (path 195, row 053), affected by
anomalous pixels, as what is visible (a) before and
(b) after median filtering. (Data courtesy of ESA/USGS.)..... 60
Figure 5.6 Mean filter with (a) a 3 × 3 kernel and (b) a 5 × 5 kernel
applied to Figure 5.5a, and (c) a high-pass filter applied.
(Data courtesy of ESA/USGS.).................................................. 61
Figure 6.1 Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper scene over Europe (path
188, row 024) with the (a) pseudo-true-color composite,
(b) zoomed in to show Warsaw city, (c) individual
pixels when zoomed in further still, and (d) zoomed
in to show Warsaw city as a false-color composite.
(Data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.) (NOTE:
there are image tabs along the top of the main window.
The original RGB image remains available when you
add the false-color composite, allowing you to quickly
flip between the two by clicking on the tabs.)........................ 75
Figure 6.2 Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper waveband 1 (a) as the
original image, (b) with 2 sigma contrast stretch, and
List of Figures xv

(c) with a customized contrast stretch. (Data courtesy

of the U.S. Geological Survey.).................................................. 79
Figure 6.3 Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper waveband 3 (a) as the
original image, (b) with the color palette applied
alongside the histogram, (c) with a customized
contrast stretch shown alongside the histogram, and
(d) zoomed in on the coniferous forest in the bottom
left corner. (Data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.)..... 80
Figure 6.4 Landsat-5 TM waveband 2 as (a) the original image,
and with a (b) 3 × 3 and (c) 7 × 7 median filter applied.
(Data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.)....................... 82
Figure 6.5 Calculated Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
image (a) zoomed into the river valley running
diagonally across the center of the image with
(b) the color palette applied. (Data courtesy of the
U.S. Geological Survey.)............................................................. 84
Figure 6.6 Sentinel-2 scene over Bangkok (tile T47PPR) with the
(a) pseudo-true-color composite, (b) zoomed in over
the city, (c) zoomed in on fields to the right of the
city, and (d) false-color composite. (Data courtesy of
Copernicus/ESA.)....................................................................... 92
Figure 6.7 Calculated Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
image (a) zoomed into fields with (b) the color palette
applied. (Data courtesy of the Copernicus/ESA.).................. 94
Figure 7.1 MODIS global data reprojected into a Mollweide Equal
Area Projection. (Data courtesy of USGS/NASA.)................. 99
Figure 7.2 Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper scene over Europe (path
188, row 024) displayed as (a) view as immediately
imported into QGIS, (b) pseudo-true color composite
with (c) an improved contrast enhancement stretch
applied to improve what’s visible. (Data courtesy of
NASA/USGS.)............................................................................ 105
Figure 7.3 Combined Landsat-4 and Landsat-5 TM scenes
displayed as (a) the full extent, and (b) zoomed-in
overlapping area. (Data courtesy of NASA/USGS.)............. 108
Figure 7.4 Combined Landsat-4 and Landsat-5 TM scenes plus
Sentinl-2 scene displayed as (a) the full extent, (b) a
zoomed-in overlapping area overlain with the Natural
Earth 110-m Populated Places layer and 50-m Airports
xvi List of Figures

layer, and (c) the Natural Earth 50-m land layer with
the river and lake centerlines. (Data courtesy of
NASA/USGS.).............................................................................111
Figure 8.1 The path of electromagnetic radiation through the
atmosphere, and interacting with the surface.......................119
Figure 8.2 The ASTER spectral library for urban surfaces shown
as reflectance for (a) a wide range of wavelengths and
then (b) zoomed in for the visible and near-infrared
(NIR) wavelengths with (c) showing the calculated
emissivity spectra for the visible and NIR wavelengths.
(Data courtesy of Baldridge et al. 2009. The ASTER
spectral library version 2.0. Remote Sens Environ
113:711–715.)................................................................................ 120
Figure 8.3 New York Bight shown using Landsat ETM+ data as
(a) visible/NIR composite and (b) thermal waveband.
(Data courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.)........................... 124
Figure 8.4 VIIRS image from September 21, 2014, showing
(a) southeastern Asia and (b) zoomed in on the
Thailand coast with numerous boats just outside the
Bay of Bangkok in the Gulf of Thailand. (Data courtesy
of NASA, NOAA, and the Department of Defense.)............ 127
Figure 8.5 (a) Example Pangeo product for Rome, Italy, and
(b) Sentinel-1A data acquired between October 3 and
December 2, 2014, combined to create an image of
the ground deformation in Mexico City. (Sentinel-1A
Copernicus data [2014]/ESA/DLR Microwave and
Radar Institute—SEOM InSARap study. Pangeo
product Copyright © 2012. Reproduced with the
permission of the rights holders who participated in
the EC FP7 PanGeo Project (262371) and the European
Environment Agency. Details of the rightsholders and
the terms of the license to use PanGeo project data
can be found at http://www.pangeo project.eu.)................. 128
Figure 8.6 Collection of imagery collected over the New York
Bight on September 8, 2002, as (a) the Landsat-7 ETM+
pseudo-true color composite, (b) the Landsat-7 ETM+
false-color composite, (c) the Landsat-7 ETM+ false-
color composite with the MODIS daytime land surface
temperature overlaid after import, and (d) zoomed-in
ASTER false-color composite for New York and
Manhattan. (Data courtesy of NASA/USGS.)...................... 132
List of Figures xvii

Figure 9.1 May 13, 2014, 10-day composite of NDVI derived

from SPOT-VGT data for the Africa continental tile.
(Copyright Copernicus Global Land Service, 2013.
Distributed and produced by VITO NV, Belgium.)............. 143
Figure 9.2 A comparison of the (a) 1990 and (b) 2006 CORINE
Land Cover 250-m resolution raster data zoomed in to
show central Spain with changes, including the urban
growth of Madrid (red/pink pixels) and burnt areas
(black pixels). (Courtesy of the European Environment
Agency.)...................................................................................... 147
Figure 9.3 An area crossing the Malaysia/Brunei border, captured
on September 10, 2014, by PALASAR-2 as the (a) HH
and (b) HV polarizations. (Original data are provided
by JAXA as the ALOS-2 sample product, © JAXA.)............. 149
Figure 9.4 Fires on the island of Tasmania, Australia, on
January 4, 2013, captured using MODIS-Aqua.
Displayed as a pseudo-true-color composite and inset
with the MYD14 product. (Data courtesy of NASA.)........... 151
Figure 9.5 Landsat-8 data acquired over the US state of Kansas,
near the city of Ulysses, on April 24, 2014, displayed
in QGIS as the (a) false-color composite after
preprocessing and (b) false-color composite zoomed
in to show individual fields. (Data courtesy of
USGS/NASA.)............................................................................ 155
Figure 9.6 QGIS screen showing the imported spectral
signatures after color changes. (Data courtesy of
USGS/NASA.)............................................................................ 158
Figure 9.7 Landsat-8 scene as the (a) classification applied using
the imported spectral signatures and (b) associated
false-color composite. (Data courtesy of USGS/NASA.)......161
Figure 9.8 Landsat-8 scene as the (a) pseudo-true-color
composite, (b) QGIS screen zoomed in to show
false-color Composite with ROI polygon selected and
(c) QGIS screen zoomed in false-color composite with
training data polygon classified. (Data courtesy of
USGS/NASA.)............................................................................ 163
Figure 9.9 Landsat-8 scene zoomed in to show the training
region-of-interest sites picked for (a) soil, (b) urban, and
(c) water, plus the (d) classification results for a subarea.
(Data courtesy of USGS/NASA.)............................................. 166
xviii List of Figures

Figure 10.1 Lake Victoria examples including (a) Landsat

Thematic Mapper mosaic for June 2009, (b) lake
surface water temperature from ARC-Lake, (c) March
2012 chlorophyll-a product created using the
eutrophic lakes processor applied to a MERIS FR
image, and (d) lake-level data from the European
Space Agency River and Lake project. (Data courtesy
of the named projects alongside ESA/NASA/USGS.)....... 173
Figure 10.2 Altimetry.................................................................................. 175
Figure 10.3 L
 oss of wetlands in Uganda. Blue – September 2018
water extent map automatically generated using
Copernicus Sentinel-1. Red, comparison with the
2005 map from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
(Data courtesy of Copernicus/European Space
Agency with the processing undertaken within
the DFMS project.).................................................................. 177
Figure 10.4 L
 andsat imagery showing the change in the
Dead Sea, through pseudo-true-color composites
of (a) Landsat-5 MSS data acquired in 1984 and
(b) Landsat-8 OLI in 2014. (Data courtesy of
NASA/USGS.).......................................................................... 180
Figure 10.5 M
 ap of a drought indicator associated with climatic
variability for the week of March 23, 2015. (Courtesy
of the US National Drought Mitigation Center.)................ 183
Figure 10.6  isplaying TerraSAR-X data within QGIS as the
D
(a) full image, with a zoomed-in inserted to show
the dam area in detail and (b) layers ordered as the
TerraSAR-X image, then Landsat-8 NDWI, and finally
the Landsat-8 pseudo-true color composite at the
bottom. (Data courtesy of Airbus DS/NASA/USGS.)....... 185
Figure 10.7 (a) Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) tiles
with TerraSAR-X image overlaid and (b) layers
ordered as the TerraSAR-X image, then SRTM
DEM derived 100 m contours, then Landsat-8
NDWI, and finally the Landsat-8 pseudo-true color
composite at the bottom. (Data courtesy of Airbus
DS/NASA/USGS.)................................................................... 192
Figure 11.1 MODIS-Aqua imagery for September 8, 2002, shown
as the (a) pseudo-true-color-composite full scene TOA
reflectance image alongside the zoomed-in image to
List of Figures xix

show the New York Bight area as the (b) pseudo-true-

color-composite BOA reflectance image, (c) Chlor-a
map, and (d) SST. (Data courtesy of NASA.)....................... 201
Figure 11.2 AMSR-E sea ice data browse image for Antarctica
February 28, 2014. (Data courtesy of Cavalieri et al.
(2004), NSIDC; Copyright © 2014 The University of
Alabama in Huntsville. All rights reserved.)...................... 205
Figure 11.3 Phytoplankton blooming off the coast of Argentina
using MERIS Level 1 reduced resolution imagery
captured on February 10, 2003, shown as the (a) TOA
radiance pseudo-true-color composite and (b) MCI
image. (Data courtesy of ESA/NASA.)................................ 206
Figure 11.4 July 16, 2009, SPOT image of Grand Cayman classified
using principal component analysis as the (a) first,
(b) second, and (c) third principal components.
(Data courtesy of ESA/CNES.).............................................. 208
Figure 11.5 Landsat-8 image of Chesapeake Bay from February
28, 2014. (Data courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey.)........... 210
Figure 11.6 Downloading and importing New York Bight MODIS
L2 into SNAP where (a) represents the position of the
New York Bight on the NASA OceanColor Website
and (b) is the New York Bight area of the MODIS
image for subsetting. (Data courtesy of NASA.)................ 213
Figure 11.7 (a) Landsat-7 pseudo-true-color composite for
September 8, 2002, (b) MODIS-Aqua pseudo-true-
color composite reprojected into a UTM projection for
the New York Bight, shown alongside the (c) global
MODIS L3 8-day Chlor-a composite that’s (d) zoomed
in to show the New York Bight area. (Data courtesy
of NASA/USGS.)..................................................................... 219
Figure 11.8 The New York Bight on August 06, 2022, as acquired
by (a) Landsat-8 as a pseudo-true-color composite
(b) MODIS-Aqua as a chlorophyll-a product, and
(c) Sentinel-3B as a chlorophyll-a product. (Data
courtesy of NASA/USGS/Copernicus/ESA.)..................... 221
Figure 11.9 Global L3 Sentinel-3B 4 km resolution chlorophyll-a
product for August 06, 2022, as the (a) whole
world view and (b) zoomed in to the New York
Bight overlaid with the SNAP World Map Overlay
xx List of Figures

compared to the (c) global L3 July 2022 composite.

(Data courtesy of NASA/Copernicus/ESA.)....................... 225
Figure 12.1 MODIS data from April 17, 2006, shown as the
(a) MODIS Top-of-Atmosphere reflectance as a
pseudo-true color composite using wavebands 1, 4,
and 3 over Beijing and the Bohai Sea alongside the
(b) global combined land and ocean aerosol
optical depth from the MOD08_D3 product.
(Data courtesy of NASA.)....................................................... 233
Figure 12.2 Copernicus Sentinel-5P data (2019–2020) showing
Nitrogen Dioxide levels (processed over India by
ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)......................................................... 235
Figure 12.3 Methane hotspots over a gas pipeline in Kazakhstan
detected by (a) the Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission
and (b) Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission; modified
Copernicus data (2020), processed by Kayrros, full
article ESA (2021)..................................................................... 238
Figure 12.4 QGIS opens with (a) the Natural Earth 110-m
Populated Places Berlin layer point from at the center
of the screen and the location to set the scale at the
bottom highlighted with an ellipse, (b) web page for
the CORINE Web Mapping Service with the location
to get the hyperlink in an ellipse, and (c) CORINE
data around Berlin with the Berlin point location at
the center. (Courtesy of the Copernicus Land Service/
European Environment Agency.)......................................... 240
Figure 12.5 Berlin (a) overlaid with the Copernicus Atmosphere
Monitoring Service air temperature data with the
color palette inserted, (b) with the scaling of the
color palette changed to discrete with the color
palette inserted, and (c) ERA5 air temperature data
shown for the same location with the color palette
inserted. (Data courtesy of Copernicus Atmosphere
Monitoring Service/Copernicus Climate Change
Service.).................................................................................... 246
Figure 12.6 Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service time
series plotted (a) using Crayfish, and (b) with the
grid overlaid on the image view. (Data courtesy of
Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.)................... 248
List of Tables

Table 6.1 Spectral Wavebands Offered by the Different

Landsat Missions and Sensors.................................................... 70
Table 8.1 TM, ETM+, TIRS and TIRS2 Thermal Band
Calibration Constants................................................................. 126

xxi
Preface

People see remote sensing data every day without realizing it, as it’s
included in news programs and weather forecasts, and some regularly
use it with software packages such as Google Earth. Many people don’t
realize they’re looking at satellite data, and even fewer realize that these
data are often freely available and accessible to anyone.
Every day, hundreds of satellites orbit the Earth, and many are collect-
ing environmental data used to understand both the short- and long-term
changes to the planet. However, you need a little bit of knowledge to find,
download, analyze, and view the data. This is where this book comes in.
I’ve been involved in remote sensing for more than 30 years, and I’ve
written several chapters for academic textbooks. These books are often
only understandable by the people who already know the subject. From
the very start, the aim of this book was different. I wanted to create a book
that could take a complete beginner through the basic scientific principles
and teach them to do their own practical remote sensing at home or work,
using just a personal computer.
I realized quite quickly that if I was going to write a “how-to” book for
people without any experience in remote sensing, I needed someone who
knew nothing about the subject to act as the tester; this was where my
husband came in!
So as the expert, and nonexpert, we’ve written this book together.
It’s been an interesting, challenging, occasionally argumentative but
ultimately pleasurable experience, as we searched for the compromise
between scientific theory and understandable language. As a result, we’ve
used simplified explanations and only a few equations, rather than trying
to explain the full complexity. We hope this balance will appeal to those
new to the subject and those used to reading technical documents.
In this second edition, we have updated the descriptions and practicals
to include more recent data sources, including the Copernicus Sentinel
satellites and the increasing array of commercial CubeSat satellites. The
first three chapters give a preliminary introduction to remote sensing,
how it works, and the available data. Then, Chapters 4–7 cover the theory
and application of basic technical remote sensing skills, using free down-
loadable software, guiding you through finding, downloading, manipu-
lating, and viewing data from the Landsat and Sentinel satellites. We’ve
chosen these two sets of satellites as the main demonstrators, as they have
global free-to-access archives of data and it’s relatively easy to handle in
the open-source software we suggest.

xxiii
xxiv Preface

Chapters 8–12 focus on a series of remote sensing applications, where

the data are used to research, monitor, and solve real-life challenges. We
start with the urban environments and move on to the evolution of the
natural landscape, followed by the terrestrial water cycle, coastal waters,
before finishing off with atmospheric gases and pollutants. Chapter 13
concludes the book by considering the future of remote sensing, alongside
how readers can go on to develop their own interests and skills.
We hope this approach makes the contents accessible, and we’ll
be interested to hear feedback. As the software and data sets used
in the book are continually changing, and to provide an ­ interactive
environment, it’s accompanied by a learning resource website
(https://www.playingwithrsdata.com/).
Overall, we feel that the book has remained true to the original thoughts
and hope those working their way through will gain a glimpse into the
complexity alongside the potential for remote sensing. We think that those
who read this book will undertake and continue remote sensing activities
for themselves and put this valuable societal resource to greater use, and
hopefully to a broader audience.

Samantha Lavender
Acknowledgments

We acknowledge those in the academic and commercial remote sensing com-

munities who continue to work on developing both satellite missions and
applications, as this book showcases just a tiny fraction of what’s possible.
The figures have come from freely available data sets, funded through
space agencies such as European Space Agency (ESA) and National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), alongside the Copernicus
Programme and organizations such as the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Geological
Survey (USGS). We’ve also used example commercial data sets from the
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Airbus Defence and
Space, which provide insight into this additional resource.
The practical exercises primarily use two open-source packages.
Sentinel Application Platform (SNAP) is a set of toolboxes for scientifically
exploiting the Sentinel missions developed by ESA. Quantum Geographic
Information System (QGIS) is licensed under the GNU General Public
License, which is an official project of the Open-Source Geospatial
Foundation. We’ve also included the QGIS Semi-Automatic Classification
Plugin, developed by Luca Congedo, and took inspiration from the accom-
panying tutorials available through a Creative Commons License.

xxv
Authors

Samantha Lavender, PhD, has more than 30 years of remote sensing

research experience, focusing on using Earth observation to help answer
questions about our planet’s resources and behavior. After earning a PhD,
she focused on the remote sensing of the Humber plume using airborne
data and was a researcher at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory and then a
lecturer at the University of Plymouth. In 2012, with Andrew, she formed
Pixalytics Ltd and is the Managing Director of this commercial remote
sensing company. Dr. Lavender is also an Associate Editor for Remote
Sensing of Environment and has an ongoing active interest in research
alongside widening the community using remotely sensed data. She has
previously served the community as chairman of the British Association
of Remote Sensing Companies (BARSC), chairman of the Remote Sensing
and Photogrammetry Society (RSPSoc), and Treasurer for the European
Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories (EARSeL).

Andrew Lavender is a novice remote sensor. Having founded Pixalytics

Ltd alongside his wife, he primarily focuses on the company’s adminis-
trative and social media activities. Andrew occasionally undertakes mod-
est aspects of simple remote sensing to produce marketing images and
acts as the ‘future reader’ of the book, including testing all of the exer-
cises. Outside of Pixalytics, he is a short story and flash fiction writer and
teaches creative writing.

xxvii
List of Symbols

Symbol, followed by description, unit, and the section where it was first
used in the book:

b Wien’s displacement constant 2.8977685 ± 51 × 10−3 (m · K) – 8.4

Bλ(T) brightness temperature (K) at a particular wavelength – 8.5
C1 first radiation constant (Wm2) – 8.5
C2 second radiation constant (m · K) – 8.5
Ed solar irradiance (Wm−2) – 8.3
Fb emitting radiant flux of the blackbody (Wm−2) – 8.4
Fr emitting radiant flux of the real material (Wm−2) – 8.4
K1 first thermal band calibration constant (Wm−2/sr/μm) – 8.5
K2 second thermal band calibration constant (K) – 8.5
Kd diffuse attenuation coefficient (m−1) – 11.4
L radiance (Wm−2/sr/μm) – 8.3
Lλ radiance at a particular wavelength (Wm−2/sr/μm) – 8.5
Lg ground radiance (Wm−2/sr/μm) – 8.3
Ls sensor radiance – 8.3
Lw(λ) water-leaving radiance (Wm−2/sr/μm) – 11.1
R reflectance (unitless, expressed as a number between 0 and 1) – 8.4
Rrs(λ) remote sensing reflectance (sr−1) – 11.1
T temperature (K) – 8.4
ε emissivity (unitless, expressed as a number between 0 and 1) – 8.4
λ wavelength (nm) – 8.5
λmax wavelength of peak radiation (m, which can be converted to μm) – 8.4

xxix
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

2D two-dimensional
3D three-dimensional
3U three CubeSat units
AC Atmospheric Correction
AI Artificial Intelligence
Airbus DS Airbus Defence and Space
AMSR-E  Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth
Observing System
AOT Aerosol Optical Thickness
ARD Analysis Ready Data
ASI Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
ASTER  Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection
Radiometer
ATSR Along Track Scanning Radiometer
BOA Bottom of Atmosphere
C3S Copernicus Climate Change Service
C ID Classification ID
C Name Classification Name
CALIPSO  Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite
Observation
CAMS Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service
CAVIS Clouds, Aerosols, Water Vapor, Ice, and Snow
CCI Climate Change Initiative
CDOM Colored Organic Dissolved Matter
CEDA Centre for Environmental Data Archival
CEOS Committee on Earth Observation Satellites
CFC Chlorofluorocarbon
CHEOS China High-resolution Earth Observation System
CHIME  Copernicus Hyperspectral Imaging Mission for the
Environment
Chlor-a Chlorophyll-a
CIMR Copernicus Imaging Microwave Radiometer
CLASS Comprehensive Large Array-Data Stewardship System
CNES Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales
CNSA China National Space Administration
CO2 carbon dioxide
CO2M Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring
CRISTAL Copernicus Polar Ice and Snow Topography Altimeter
CRS Coordinate Reference System

xxxi
xxxii List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

CSEOL Citizen Science Earth Observation Lab

CZCS Coastal Zone Color Scanner
DEM Digital Elevation Model
DIAS Data and Information Services
DLR Deutsche Forshungsanstalt fur Luft und Raumfahrt
DMC Disaster Monitoring Constellation
DMSP Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
DN Digital Number
DTM Digital Terrain Model
EAC4 ECMWF Atmospheric Composition Reanalysis 4
ECMWF European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
ECVs Essential Climate Variables
EM Electromagnetic
EnMAP German Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program
EO Earth Observation
ERTS-1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite
ESA European Space Agency
ETM+ Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus
European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteoro­
EUMETSAT 
logical Satellites
FAIR Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reuseable
fAPAR fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation
FCDR Fundamental Climate Data Record
fCover vegetation cover fraction
FLH Normalized Fluorescence Line Height
FRP Fire Radiative Power
GB gigabyte
GCOS Global Climate Observing System Implementation Plan
GCPs Ground Control Points
GEOSS Global Earth Observation System of Systems
GeoTIFF Geostationary Earth Orbit Tagged Image File Format
GHG Greenhouse Gas
GHRSST Group for High-Resolution Sea Surface Temperature
GIMP GNU Image Manipulation Program
Geospatial Interactive Online Visualization and Analysis
Giovanni 
Infrastructure
GIS Geographic Information System
GLCF Global Land Cover Facility
GloVis Global Visualization Viewer
GMES Global Monitoring for Environmental Security
GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System
GOES Geostationary Satellite system
GPM Global Precipitation Measurement
G-POD Grid Processing on Demand
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations xxxiii

GRACE Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment

GRASS Geographic Resources Analysis Support System
H 2O water vapor
HAPS  High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite/High-altitude Platform
Station
HF High Frequency
HRVIR High-Resolution Visible and Infrared sensor
Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-Geoscience Laser
ICESat-GLAS 
Altimeter System
ID Identifier
IGS International Ground Station
InSAR Interferometric SAR
INSPIRE  Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European
Community
iPAR Instantaneous Photosynthetically Available Radiation
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IR Infrared
ISRO Indian Space Research Organisation
ISS International Space Station
JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
L0 Level 0
L1 Level 1
L2 Level 2
L3 Level 3
L4 Level 4
LAADS L1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System
LAI Leaf Area Index
LC Land Cover
LEO Low Earth Orbit
LP DAAC Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center
LRM Low-Resolution Mode
LST Land Surface Temperature
LSTM Copernicus Land Surface Temperature Monitoring
LSWT Lake Surface Water Temperature
LU Land Use
LULC Land Use and Land Cover
MB Megabyte
MC ID MacroClass ID
MC Name MacroClass Name
MCI Maximum Chlorophyll Index
MERIS MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer
MIR Mid-Infrared
MIRAS Microwave Imaging Radiometer with Aperture Synthesis
ML Machine Learning
xxxiv List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

MOD04 NASA’s standard aerosol product

MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
MOOC Massive Open Online Course
MSI Multispectral Instrument
MSS Multispectral Scanner
MTCI MERIS Terrestrial Chlorophyll Index
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
NDWI Normalized Difference Water Index
NIR Near-Infrared
NISAR  NASA–Indian Space Research Organization Synthetic
Aperture Radar
NO2 nitrogen dioxide
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NRT Near-Real Time
NSIDC National Snow and Ice Data Center
O2 oxygen
O3 ozone
OC2 Ocean Color 2
OCO NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory
OGC Open Geospatial Forum
OLCI Ocean and Land Color Instrument
OLCI-2 Ocean and Land Color Instrument-2
OLI Operational Land Imager
OLS Operational Line Scan
OMI NASA Ozone Monitoring Instrument
OSI SAF Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility
PALSAR-2 Phased Array Type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar
PCA Principal Component Analysis
PIC Particulate Inorganic Carbon
POC Particulate Organic Carbon
PM Particulate Matter
PRISMA PRecursore Iperspettrale della Missione Applicativa
QGIS Quantum GIS
QuikSCAT Quick Scatterometer
RA-2 Envisat Radar Altimeter-2
RBV Return-Beam Vidicon
REDD+  Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degra­
dation in developing countries
RMSE Root-Mean-Squared Error
RO Radio Occultation
ROI Region of Interest
RSGISLib Remote Sensing and GIS Software Library
RT Real Time
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations xxxv

SAFE Standard Archive Format for Europe

SAGA System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses
SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar
SARIn SAR Interferometric
Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmos­
SCIAMACHY 
pheric CHartographY
SCP Semi-Automatic Classification Plug-in
SeaWiFS Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor SeaWiFS
Sen4CAP Sentinels for Common Agriculture Policy
SIRAL SAR Interferometric Radar Altimeter
SLC Scan Line Corrector
SLSTR Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR)
SMAP Soil Moisture Active Passive
SMI Standard Mapped Image
SMOS Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity
SNAP Sentinel Application Platform
SNR Signal-to-Noise Ratio
SPM Suspended Particulate Matter
SPOT  Satellites Pour l’Observation de la Terre or Earth-
Observing Satellites
SRAL Synthetic Aperture Radar Altimeter
SRTM Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
SST Sea Surface Temperature
STAC SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog
STEP Science Toolbox Exploitation Platform
SWIR Shortwave Infrared
Suomi NPP Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership
Tandem-X TerraSAR-X add-on for Digital Elevation Measurement
2011
TECIS Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon Inventory Satellite
TIR Thermal IR
TIROS Television and Infrared Observation Satellite
TIRS Thermal Infrared Sensor
TIRS-2 Thermal Infrared Sensor 2
TM Thematic Mapper
TOA Top of Atmosphere
TRMM Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission
TROPOMI Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument
UAV Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles
UN United Nations
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO  United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization
US United States
xxxvi List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

USGS United States Geological Survey

UTC Coordinated Universal Time
UTM Universal Transverse Mercator
UV Ultraviolet
VHF Very High Frequency
VIIRS Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite
WGS84 World Geodetic System of 1984
WHO World Health Organization
WMS Web Mapping Service
WRS Worldwide Reference System
1
What Is Remote Sensing?

Welcome to the start of your journey to remote sensing mastery! Over the
next 13 chapters, we’re going to take you up into space and introduce you
to the world of satellite data, showing you what your eyes can see and
unveiling things your eyes can’t.
There are hundreds of satellites orbiting the Earth, and you use their data
every day, whether it’s to make mobile telephone calls, for car navigation,
or to watch the news and weather. We’re passionate about the satellites that
collect environmental data, which can help explore, explain, and monitor
what is happening here on the Earth. The data from these satellites are used
to monitor climate change, the health of the oceans, provide lifesaving sup-
port in earthquakes and early warning systems for floods. All these appli-
cations, and many more, are provided through remote sensing data.
What’s more, most of these data are freely available and can be used by
anyone with a reasonable computer and Internet connection. This book is
going to take you through the theory, with supported practical exercises,
to show you how to find, download, manipulate, and view these amazing
data sets. You can investigate your local area, or anywhere in the world,
and improve your understanding of the environment, or perhaps even
create new applications no one has developed yet. Remote sensing is a
young, growing space-based industry waiting to be discovered.
This first chapter will provide you with an overview of remote sensing,
by explaining what it is, its history, how it works, and why it’s useful. The
final section describes the structure of the book and what will be covered
within the individual chapters.
We hope that the book will interest, intrigue, and inspire you to get
involved with remote sensing data and begin to use it to explore our
planet. Get ready to take your first step.

1.1 Definition of Remote Sensing

The simplest definition of remote sensing is being able to know what an
object is without being in physical contact with it (inspired by Sabins,
1978). You do that every day with your eyes, as you don’t have to touch

DOI: 10.1201/9781003272274-1 1
2 Practical Handbook of Remote Sensing

a table or a chair to know what it is. Now imagine your eyes were up in
space and could see the whole world; could you tell what type of tree
was in a forest by looking at it, or how warm the ocean was, or whether
the level in the river is rising, or whether air quality over a particular
town is good or bad? Well, this is exactly what satellite remote sensing
can do.
Remote sensing is essentially the collection of data by sensors commonly
on either aircraft or satellites, although other approaches are available,
for example, in the Amazon, there are a number of tall vertical platforms
topped with sensors that are then processed by computer systems to pro-
vide information and images about a particular area.
Because remote sensing generally monitors the planet, the term Earth
observation (EO) has recently become popular, to describe what remote
sensing does. However, there is also remote sensing of other planets, and
their moons, in the solar system, and even comets, which, in 2014, was a
key part of the European Space Agency Rosetta mission to land on Comet
69P Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Remote sensing essentially gives us an opportunity to better under-
stand what is happening on our planet.

1.2 History of Remote Sensing

Remote sensing started with cameras more than 150 years ago. In the
1840s, pictures or aerial photographs were taken from cameras secured
to balloons for topographic mapping, capturing both natural and man-
made features and showing the variations in the terrain. Gaspard-Felix
Tournachon took photographs of Paris from his balloon in 1858, and then
(in 1896) Alfred Nobel designed a system to take aerial photographs from
rockets. Cameras were mounted on airplanes and became an important
source of information for World War I reconnaissance and surveillance
activities. This extended into space, although not yet into orbit, with V-2
rockets acquiring imagery in the mid-1940s.
The Soviet Union Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite, which
provided information on the upper atmosphere from the orbital drag
and propagation of radio signals. United States (US) Military satellites
(Corona program) started in 1959 with the first photographs successfully
acquired from space in 1960 using cameras with film canisters, which
were dropped back to Earth in reentry capsules and then caught in mid-
air by airplanes. As astronauts began going into space, they also started
taking photographs.
What Is Remote Sensing? 3

Specific developments in EO began in 1959, with the launch of the

Explorer VII satellite designed to measure the amount of heat emitted and
reflected by the Earth. The US meteorological satellite TIROS 1 (Television
and Infrared Observation Satellite) was launched in 1960 and sent back
the first satellite image of cloud patterns over the Earth.
Since then, the number of satellite missions, the data collected, and the
parameters that can be derived from the data have increased significantly.
Apollo 9, launched in 1968, captured the first multispectral imagery using
its four-lens camera to provide photographs that were later digitized. The
crew were provided with lists and maps of the target areas selected on
a daily basis by the support room using weather and light predictions
alongside Apollo crew reports (Lowman, 1969); before taking each pho-
tograph, the cameras were unstowed and assembled and then triggered
manually at the recommended interval.
Landsat 1, originally named the Earth Resources Technology Satellite,
was launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) in 1972 and began the first continuous archive of EO data to sup-
port research; that’s still growing today. Later on, the Nimbus-7 satellite
(launched in 1978) carried the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer, which
went on to help confirm the existence of the Antarctic ozone hole, and
the Coastal Zone Color Scanner launched in 1997 was the first sensor
focused on mapping the color of the marine environment. The European
Union established the Copernicus EO program (https://www.copernicus.
eu/en) early in the 21st century, and in conjunction with the European
Space Agency, launched the first of its Sentinel satellites, the radar satel-
lite Sentinel-1A, in 2014. To date, the program has launched eight satellites,
and although primarily designed for public policymakers and public bod-
ies responsible for environmental and security matters, this continuous
archive of data is free to access to anyone globally.
The latest developments in technology surround the use of CubeSats,
which are mini- or nanosatellites built from 0.1 m square cubes, with a
3U (3 × 0.1 m square unit) CubeSat having a mass of no more than 4 kg.
Their size means that they’re vastly cheaper to build and launch into space,
and although they don’t have the lifespan of larger satellites, they offer a
fantastic potential to test new sensors or undertake specific short-lived
measurements. These CubeSats have also enabled the creation of satellite
constellations, where a large number of identical satellites orbit the Earth
enabling a great frequency of data. In EO, the most famous of these constel-
lations is from Planet Labs, which has a couple of hundred satellites and in
2017 claimed that they could capture an image of every part of the Earth’s
landmass every day. Outside of EO, constellations are much bigger with
SpaceX’s space-based Internet broadband constellation already being sev-
eral thousand strong and expected to grow to tens of thousands of satellites.
4 Practical Handbook of Remote Sensing

Besides satellites, there are also other types of platforms (e.g., fixed-
wing aircraft, helicopters, and uncrewed aerial vehicles, also popularly
known as drones) that are becoming increasingly used for low-altitude
imaging. Although we’ll not focus on these non–space-based missions,
some airborne sources of data will be mentioned as they often provide the
test platforms for space-based instruments.

1.3 Principles of Remote Sensing

Remote sensing works primarily by detecting the energy reflected or emit-
ted from the Earth as electromagnetic (EM) radiation. The EM spectrum
ranges from radio waves at the longest wavelengths/shortest frequen-
cies to microwave radiation followed by infrared, visible, and ultraviolet
radiation (see Figure 1.1). These wavelengths are absorbed, and scattered,
differently both within the atmosphere and when interacting with the
surface of an object or region of interest (ROI). Detecting, and interpret-
ing, the EM energy of these different wavelengths is the essence of remote
sensing. There are two different approaches to doing this – passive and
active remote sensing.
In passive remote sensing, the sensor detects radiation naturally emit-
ted or reflected by the object or ROI on the Earth. Thermal remote sensing,
which is in the infrared, is detected where there is a heat emission from
the Earth or its atmosphere. While optical remote sensing detects the sun-
light reflected off the water or land; the ratio of the light traveling down-
ward to that being scattered back toward the sensor is termed reflectance.
Another type of passive remote sensing is by microwave radiometers,
Ultraviolet

Micro- Infrared Visible

Radio waves waves radiation light X-rays Gamma rays

10 3 1 10 –3 10 –5 10 –7 10 –9 10 –11 10 –13

FIGURE 1.1
Electromagnetic spectrum. (Courtesy of designua © 123RF.com.)
What Is Remote Sensing? 5

which can be influenced by both temperature and salinity over the oceans
and soil moisture over the land.
In contrast, for active remote sensing, the sensor (or platform) emits
energy toward the object or ROI on the Earth and then the sensor detects
and measures the strength and time delay of the return signal. An exam-
ple of this method is radar (originally an acronym for RAdio Detection
And Ranging) remote sensing in the microwave region. As active sensors
or platforms are emitting a signal, they require more power than passive
sensors and so often these satellites are only switched on when they’re
tasked to record data; that is, they don’t routinely collect full global data
sets.
Therefore, from knowing how an object or the Earth’s surface inter-
acts with EM radiation, we can infer what it is. However, the effects
of the atmosphere also need to be accounted for if this is to be done
accurately.

1.4 Usefulness of Remote Sensing

A key benefit of using remotely sensed data is that you don’t have to
go to the area being studied to sense and, hence, map it, which is par-
ticularly useful if the area is remote or difficult to get to for any ­reason.
However, it may not mean that someone never has to go there. All
remote sensing signals require interpretation. Taking measurements
locally (often called ground truthing or in situ validation) means that
they’re compared with the satellite observations and provide a better
understanding and, in some cases, improvement of the remotely sensed
data products, that is, the final results after several processing steps.
This is especially useful when new types of sensors have been launched
or new techniques are being developed, but it is also important for
assessing the stability and accuracy of an instrument, which is termed
calibration.
The second key benefit of remote sensing is the historical archives of
data that exist. The Landsat missions, which began in the 1970s, have col-
lected a huge archive of data that are freely available for anyone to use and
so can enable a historical analysis of changes over time. While Landsat is
one of the most comprehensive archives, it isn’t the only one; for example,
the global space community is bringing multimission data sets together to
assess the impacts of climate change as discussed in Section 12.3. Through
a combination of in situ data, modeling, and remote sensing, it has been
determined that there is strong evidence that sea surface temperature has
6 Practical Handbook of Remote Sensing

been increasing at all latitudes since the 1950s, with new satellite estima-
tion techniques appearing to be more accurate than many in situ observa-
tions (Hartmann et al., 2013).
In theory, this wealth of remotely sensed data is a fantastic resource.
However, in practice, it may not always be as simple as it sounds as
often the technology onboard satellite missions has developed over time
and so the data acquired now don’t exactly match what were acquired
historically.
In addition, remote sensing offers benefits as collecting in situ measure-
ments is difficult to do over a wide range of areas and is costly in terms of
resources; while airborne data collection could deal with the area issue, it
is still expensive to fly such missions. Therefore, satellite remote sensing
offers an ongoing, relatively cost-effective solution that can provide regu-
lar data acquisitions across wide geographical areas.

1.5 Challenges of Remote Sensing

Although there’s a significant amount of satellite data available, and much
of them are free, they are still not widely used outside the remote sensing
community itself. There are a number of reasons for this: first, the sensors
on satellites vary widely and, therefore, a level of knowledge is required to
ensure that the data being used are the best fit for how you want to use it.
Second, the data often come in a relatively raw format, requiring the user
to process the data to produce the images or information they require.
Third, even once processed, there’s a need to understand what the data
show, and the data require interpretation, which is often improved with
experience. For example, a white patch on an image could show a snowy
area, desert, or cloud.
Finally, satellite data sets are often vast with a large number of large
files that require significant amounts of computer disk space to store and
power to process. Although cloud computing has made a huge difference
with the availability of remote processing, the knowledge on what’s avail-
able, and access to these resources, is primarily within the research and
commercial remote sensing communities.
It’s also worth noting that while there are a lot of free data, they don’t
always cover the geographical ROI nor do they have the desired spatial
resolution (see Chapter 2) needed. In these cases, it’s likely the data could
be available from commercial satellite operators, where there will be a
cost; the purchase cost for a high-resolution optical image starts from a
few hundred US dollars and can go up to several thousand dollars for
very high resolution imagery.
What Is Remote Sensing? 7

1.6 Summary and Scope of the Book

Remote sensing provides us with the capability to answer questions about
what’s happening and what has happened on Earth. This book aims to
show that remote sensing is a resource that’s available to everyone, and
it will give you the skills to start getting involved in this exciting field. It
provides an overview of the science behind remote sensing and its appli-
cations, underpinning skills to enable you to process and analyze some of
the data sets that are freely available, and pointers to where other data sets
can be downloaded.
The book is organized such that the first seven chapters provide an
introduction to the theory of remote sensing and walk you through some
practical examples by showing you how to download and use both exam-
ple packages and the data to enable you to start doing remote sensing. The
second half of the book has five chapters focusing on different application
areas, starting with urban environments, then the evolution of the natural
landscape, followed by the terrestrial water cycle and then coastal envi-
ronments, before finishing off with atmospheric gases and pollutants. The
final chapter looks toward the future of remote sensing.
This should provide you with a good starting point for working with
remotely sensed data and help you begin to investigate your own ques-
tions about our planet and its environment. However, it should also be
recognized that this book can only provide an introduction to the sub-
ject, and what’s possible; hence, those wishing to gain deeper knowledge
should move on to more specific reading as discussed in Section 13.4.

1.7 Key Terms

• Active remote sensing: The sensor (or platform) emits energy
toward the Earth, and then the sensor detects and measures the
strength and time delay of the return signal.
• Earth observation: It applies to global or regional remote sensing
focused on the Earth.
• Passive remote sensing: A sensor detects radiation naturally emit-
ted or reflected by an object or region on the Earth.
• Reflectance: When light is scattered back to a sensor, with the value
being the ratio of the backscattered to forward traveling light.
• Remote sensing: The collection of information about an object
without being in physical contact with it.
8 Practical Handbook of Remote Sensing

References
Hartmann, D. L., A. M. G. Klein Tank, M. Rusticucci et al. 2013. Observations:
Atmosphere and surface. In Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science
Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, eds. T. F. Stocker, D. Qin, G.-K.
Plattner, M. Tignor, S. K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and
P. M. Midgley, 159–254. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lowman, P. D. 1969. Apollo 9 Multispectral Photography: Geologic Analysis. Greenbelt:
Goddard Space Flight Center.
Sabins, F. F. 1978. Remote Sensing Principles and Interpretation. San Francisco:
Freeman.
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 He proved a true prophet. Just as he finished speaking the other car
glided swiftly into view, and was upon them before they could stir. Half a
dozen men seemed literally to jump out of it upon the shoulders of the trio.
They were men, too, of powerful north-country build, almost ox-like in
their strength, and the three thieves had about as much chance amongst
them as rats in the mouths of trained dogs. They had time to make only the
faintest show of fight before they were lifted bodily into the capacious
police-car, with hefty constables practically sitting on them to keep them
quiet.

The game was up, and they resigned themselves to the inevitable. An
inkling of the way in which they had been trapped dawned on them as the
car started downhill, for from behind them there came the sound of a boyish
cheer, which raised mocking echoes among the hills. And at least one of
them—Cyrus the Poet, to wit, whose head was jammed uncomfortably
against the door—caught a sight of a posse of schoolboys jumping joyfully
down the hill, so that the secret of the slashed tyres, and the sudden police
raid, was laid bare to him in the depths of his humiliation.

To the succour of the two drugged men the police-doctor came in his
own car, wherein were also Flenton and the three swift-footed heroes who
had raced into town at Robin's bidding. All the Merry Men went willingly
back to assist in lifting the still-stupefied policemen, and, then, forming
fours, they marched down the hill in a singing procession, and entered the
school-yard with hoarse but happy shouts of triumph.

Thus, by a chain of fortunate circumstances, it had fallen to the lot of

Foxenby's boys themselves to avenge the burglary at the school, and Old
Man Wykeham's delight almost choked his utterance as he proudly
announced to the assembled Foxes what Robin Arkness and his Merry Men
had done. He promised them another special holiday at a reasonable
interval after Shrove Tuesday, and made no protest against a particularly
boisterous dormitory supper which the Juniors of both Houses arranged in
honour of Robin Hood and his Merry Men.

"There'll be a trial now," said Roger to Dick, "and you, Robin Hood, and
Fluffy Jim will be the star turns in the witness-box."
 "By the ears of the school donkey, I'll be nothing of the kind!" exclaimed
Dick. "You're deliberately trying to put the wind up me, Roger, you old
fraud!"

"'Pon honour, Dick, I'm as serious as the Judge will be on that solemn
occasion. They're bound to subpoena you as a witness. Probably I, too, will
have to go."

"You can jolly well be my deputy," said Dick, with emphasis. "I should
blush and fidget like a first-form kid reciting 'Casabianca' if they started
quizzing me in a public court."

Roger was right, nevertheless. All three had to give evidence at the trial,
and Robin Arkness, for one, showed a self-assurance which amused
everybody but the prisoners. Nor could Dick have acquitted himself so
badly as he feared, for the cracksmen, all of whom had given Scotland Yard
trouble before, were sent to ponder over their errors in the cold seclusion of
a convict prison, and it was quite possible that the picture of the lonely
cottage on the moor would haunt their plank-bed dreams on many a fretful
night to come.

CHAPTER XXII

Home Truths for Luke Harwood

"My dear Dick," wrote Aunt Bella, in a letter which Dick received a
fortnight later, "you were cheery enough, and far-sighted enough, to assure
me, when the clouds were blackest and thickest, that the sun would burst
through them all. Your sturdy optimism heartened me immensely at the
time, and saved me many hours of worry, which, as events have since
proved, would have been sheer waste of nervous force.

"In short, my solicitor's brother, being as proud as he is rich, has taken to

heart the blow to his family honour, and has insisted on refunding every
penny of the money which his unfortunate relative embezzled. I say
'unfortunate' advisedly, because mental specialists have proved beyond
doubt that my lawyer was insane during the period of his dishonest actions.
He suffered from a form of legal kleptomania, all the stupider because he,
too, had money of his own to play with, and had no need to toy with that of
his trusting clients.

"In these circumstances I am not a penny out of pocket after all, and
everything in the garden may be said to be lovely again. I had not,
fortunately, had time to leave my beloved home, and my golf-clubs are in
full swing again.

"I need scarcely say I read, with the utmost interest, the racy account you
sent me of your recent adventures (naughty boy, not to have told me of your
troubles before). Particularly was I pleased with your graphic character-
study of 'Chuck' Smithies, the bookmaker. His trade, as you remark, is a
rotten one, but we cannot say the same of his big heart, which is as sound as
a bell.

"Purely because he did so much to keep your head above water, I have
sent him, anonymously, a few boxes of cigars, which won't, I know, poison
him, because my brother Joe smokes the same brand (extravagant man!)
and is still very much alive!

"But it is with even greater pleasure that I enclose herewith my donation

to the Rooke's House Rag, the new issue of which I hope shortly to have the
pleasure of laughing over.

"Keep yourself fiddle-fit for the re-played Final, Dick, boy, so that this
time your hefty foot may on no account miss the target.

"Your chummy Aunt,

"BELLA."
 The donation, of course, was liberal, and it really seemed as though the
sun-rays of prosperity were doing their utmost to dazzle Dick's eyes of late.

The financial foundation of the Rooke's House Rag was now firm. Its
new issue, fresh in style and throbbing with life, infected the school with
the light-heartedness of its editors, and did something more to restore the
Captain to the popularity which he had previously enjoyed. Boys love the
hero of an adventure. His star was in the ascendant again, and as it rose, the
star of Luke Harwood sank. Even the Head seemed to be losing interest in
Luke, and "Wykeham's Pet Fox" felt that the title no longer fitted him as he
roamed about the school, his uneasiness ill-concealed beneath his habitual
mask of composure.

For weeks he had succeeded in avoiding close contact with Dick, there
being a straight look of inquiry in the Captain's eyes whenever their glances
met, which the Editor of the Foxonian found disturbing. But he could not
for ever succeed in giving Dick a wide berth, and there came a time, shortly
after a football practice, when the Captain stood directly in his path, and no
one else was about to whom he could hang on for safety.

Making a virtue of necessity, therefore, he favoured Dick with a slow,

sweet smile.

"Team seems in wonderful form just now—should make no mistake

about the re-play," he commented.

"I'm not so sanguine as you appear to be, Harwood. Much depends on

circumstances. We can't, for instance, afford such another nasty little
accident as that which occurred in the last match."

"Most unfortunate, as I said in the Foxonian at the time," murmured

Luke. "Still, who could have foreseen the freakish action of an idiot?"

"Was it a freakish action, do you think? Or did somebody quietly put

him up to it?"
 "Preposterous, Forge; most absurdly unlikely! No Fox could have
whispered anything so stupid and harmful into the Village Idiot's ear."

"No Foxenby boy perhaps, but what was to prevent a grown-up fellow
trying it on—Ike Doccan, for instance?"

The thrust was skilfully made, and its results exceeded Dick's hopes.
Luke flushed to the eyes, only to lose his colour a moment later, looking
pale indeed. He quickly regained his apparent serenity of manner, but Dick
had seen quite enough in that one frightened look to convince him that it
was worth while going on.

"I always believe in taking the bull by the horns, Harwood," he said,
"and there's nobody to hear me if anything I say goes wide of the mark. In
plain terms, then, why did Doccan egg on Fluffy Jim to spoil my last-
minute goal at Walsbridge?"

"Ike Doccan blacks the boys' boots, and I am not accountable for his
actions in or out of Holbeck's House," answered Luke. He was, to all
appearances, his old calm self again.

"Harwood, you're fencing. In a duel of words I know I stand no show.

Therefore, I make no bones about saying that I believe you and your select
gang (inclusive of Ike Doccan) backed St. Cuthbert's to beat us in the Final
tie."

"Forge, that is a monstrous charge to make—have a care!"

"Furthermore," went on Dick, "I believe that Ike Doccan was acting
directly to your orders when he hoisted Fluffy Jim over the ropes to spoil
my goal."

"Forge, I swear to you——"

"Shut up a minute—I know what you want to say. You didn't move a
hand-stir in the rotten affair—of course not! You were far too crafty a skunk
for that, so, after making a convenient guy of the Village Idiot, you hired a
minion to do the rest of your dirty work for you. Deny it if you can!"
 "It's all your imagination, Forge."

So meek and mild was the tone of this reply that the prefect of Holbeck's
House might merely have been denying that he had been guilty of making a
pun. Already he was edging furtively away, wishing, no doubt, that there
were acres of green fields between him and this hard-eyed Captain of
Foxenby.

"In other words," said Dick, "you call me a liar!"

"No, no, Forge!"

"Yes, yes, Harwood! Betting on a school match is bad enough—

wagering against your own side is infinitely worse."

"You seem very certain of your facts!"

"I could prove them up to the hilt if necessary. But your shifty eyes are
sufficient testimony for me. You can't look me straight in the face! You
played your low-down game of bluff cunningly, Harwood, hunting
magazine subscriptions for me, 'soft-soaping' my Rag, fooling me with your
tongue in your cheek! And all the time (how clearly I see it now) you were
scheming in secret to pull me down—to jockey me out of the Captaincy and
set yourself up in my place."

"You're a liar!" cried Harwood, stung at last into open defiance by this
keen home-thrust.

"Thanks," said Dick. "That's more sporting of you. Look out for your
eye now!"

Out shot the Captain's fist, and down to the grass went Harwood, with
the marks of Dick's knuckles on his cheek.

"Now, Harwood, lift yourself up and let's have it out once and for all.
Don't stay sprawling there—that little tap can't have hurt you. What, aren't
you going to fight? Come along, man!"
 "I'm having no more, thanks," Harwood replied, in the tremulous voice
of a craven. "Fighting's no sort of fun for me. I'm out of condition—you're
as hard as nails."

"Well, of all the beastly funks—pooh, Harwood, what a first-class rotter

you are! I wish I hadn't gone for you—it's a waste of powder and shot.
Luckless Holbeck's to have a worm like you as a prefect! Get up and don't
be scared. I wouldn't touch you again with a pole!"

Saved by this contemptuous promise from further violence, Luke rose

groggily to his feet, making a great pretence of being badly shaken.

"Drop swinging the lead, Harwood, and listen to me a minute. The date
of the re-played Final has been fixed. The game will be at Walsbridge as
before. But you won't be there, Harwood. Neither will Doccan, nor any
other of your gambling clique. You'll find some excuse for not going, all of
you—understand?"

"But how can I promise for anybody save myself, Forge?"

"You arranged matters to your liking before—it will be just as easy to do

it again. For the good of the school, you and your gang have got to be
missing. We shall breathe cleaner air in your absence."

"But——" began Harwood, desperately.

"Promise, or take a hiding, whichever you prefer."

"No need to make a scene, Forge; I'll manage it somehow."

Dick laughed scornfully. "I thought you would. Go now, and be quick
about it. I'd rather not be seen within half a mile of you!"
 CHAPTER XXIII

A Merry Man's Magazine

In the mind of the Captain of Foxenby there lingered pleasantly the

riddles he had heard at the Robin Hood concert. Some of them would, he
thought, make a bright addition to the fun columns of The Rooke's House
Rag, but it was necessary first to get the author's permission to print them.

While crossing the yard with Roger he caught sight of Robin Arkness,
and gripped that mercurial youngster by the arm.

"Say, kid, you're a dandy riddle-maker. It'll be decent of you if you'll let
me put a few of those Foxenby conundrums in the next number of The
Rag."

Robin coloured, took off his cap, and nervously ran his fingers through
his yellow hair.

"They weren't my riddles, Forge," he stammered. "I got 'em from—from

somewhere."

"Not from a book," said Forge. "They were slap-bang up-to-date stuff,
poking excellent fun at us. Really, now, you don't mind if I publish a few of
them, do you?"

There was an awkward silence. Robin cast two or three quick glances at
Roger, who frowned back at him and shook his head. In this action he was
detected by Dick, who looked from one to the other in dawning
comprehension.

"Now I smell a rat!" he exclaimed. "Roger, you sly old fox, how many of
those riddles did you write?"
 Robin and Roger saw this time that the cat was too far out of the bag to
be replaced. Both giggled rather foolishly, while the Captain laughed at
them.

"Cut away, Robin," said Roger. "Keep everything squat still. Better to
leave them guessing."

Robin pelted away willingly, glad to be relieved of the secret which he

and the prefect had shared. The riddles had been so much talked about, and
he had been so closely questioned concerning them, that the sudden fame
thrust upon him had become embarrassing.

Still, he had enjoyed the sensation for a time, and an idea struck him
now which thrilled him suddenly with excitement.

"Why," said Robin to himself, "shouldn't the Merry Men have a jolly old
magazine all to themselves? Not a big printed thing, of course, like the
Foxonian or the Rag. Just pocket-size, so that a fellow could slip it inside
his Latin grammar and read it in school hours."

No grass ever had the chance to grow long under Robin's feet. At once
he called a meeting of the Merry Men in the quietest corner of Rooke's
House, and put his proposal before them with infectious enthusiasm.

"Champion!" Little John voted the idea.

"It's a winner, Robin!" said David of Doncaster.

"I'll write a serial for it," said Allan a Dale.

"I'll draw some coloured butterflies," said the Miller.

"Put me down for some pictures of wild animals," said the Tinker. "I live
in Regent's Park, outside the Zoo."

"Don't be bashful," observed Dave. "Say inside it, Tinker."

Several other Merry Men promised contributions, varying from ghost

stories to verses on skylarks and redbreasts. Almost all were full of zeal,
and Robin glowed with proud anticipation as he saw, in imagination, his
new magazine packed with gems of literature and art.

"What'll you call it, Robin?" asked Little John.

"Why, the Merry Men's Magazine, of course," answered Robin. They all
agreed that no title could be better.

"How much will you charge for it?" somebody asked.

Ah, that was an important question! It was nearing the middle of the
term, and the coins still remaining in some of the Merry Men's pockets were
feeling a draught.

"Nixie," said Robin. "There'll be no subscription."

"Oh, come off it, Robin! Printing's dear and paper's dear."

"I can cadge some paper," said Robin. "And printing will cost nothing.
We'll print it ourselves."

"I say, this sounds exciting!" said Little John. "With one of those rubber
printing-presses, eh, Robin? I love messing about with those."

"I don't," said Dave. "It's all right making up the lines, but what about
putting the type back in its place afterwards? That gets skipped."

"Don't worry," said Robin. "When I said 'print', I meant pen-print. The
magazine will consist of thirty-six small sheets of paper, pocket-size. Each
Merry Man will write or draw his contribution on a sheet of the paper, and
hand it back to me within two days. I'll then fasten the sheets together and
pass the 'Mag' from boy to boy in the Form. No reader will be allowed to
keep it longer than a day. Otherwise, it wouldn't go the rounds before the
term-end."

Though some of them may have felt that this was not a very practical
scheme they withheld their criticism, accepted sheets of unruled paper from
Robin, and went to seek inspiration in the most secluded spot available.
 A day or so later contributions started rolling in, and Robin began to
realise how much more trouble than joy there is in the life of an editor.

Allan a Dale's serial gave him a topping send-off. It was called "King of
the Road", and concerned a highwayman whose adventures had those of
Dick Turpin beaten to a frazzle. This gentleman, proudly calling himself
"Helter-skelter Hal", chivied a coachful of fat politicians over a cliff, made
a king stand on his head in a snowdrift, held up three stage-coaches
simultaneously with two pistols, rescued a maiden in distress by hauling her
through a carriage-window and riding with her across a tree that bridged a
raging torrent, and then attacked single-handed, and put to flight, a score or
more armed footpads who were robbing the Governor of the Bank of
England. Not such a bad series of incidents for a first instalment!

So far, so good. The first jar came when Little John, trustiest of Robin's
comrades, brought in his contribution. This was a full-page drawing of a
football match, supposed to be the final tie for the County Schools' Cup.
Little John had written this title beneath it, and he had put goal-posts at each
end of the field. But for these descriptive touches it might just as well have
pictured a bull-fight, or a cannibal dance round a missionary in a stew-pot.

"I say, old chap, this is a bit fierce," Robin commented, rather blankly.
"A wee bit out of perspective, isn't it? These trees, for instance, look as if
they were in the middle of the field."

"What trees?" asked Little John, wonderingly. "Those? Here, don't be

silly. Those are our forwards and St. Cuthbert's halves having a wrestle for
the ball."

"Oh, really," said Robin politely, "I beg your pardon. But why this sheaf
of corn behind the goal? Queer place for a wheatsheaf, isn't it?"

"Wheatsheaf be blowed!" cried Little John, indignantly. "Robin, you

ought to get some spectacles. That's Fluffy Jim in his paper costume."

"All serene," agreed Robin. "I'll put a cross over his head and write his
name underneath the picture, so's everybody will know. Passed for
publication. Next gentleman, please!"
 The boy who was called Friar Tuck approached him and handed him a
sheet of verse.

"What's this?" asked Robin "'Musick in ye Forest'. Why the 'k' in 'music',
Friar?"

"That's how they used to spell it in those days," said the Friar.

"But those days aren't these days," said Robin. "Here, get your heads out
of the light, you two, while I read the first verse."

Heedless of the self-conscious blushes of the embarrassed poet, he

commenced to read:—

"'In ye forest of Ancient Sherwood,

Where the deer so blithely skip,
There strode the doughty Robin Hood
With a horn upon his lip.'

Here, shiver my timbers, this is weird," commented Robin. "What's Robin

Hood want with a horn upon his lip? He's not a stag or a bull! Even if he
were either, horns grow on foreheads, don't they?"

"You haven't twigged it properly, Robin," explained the Friar. "Read on,
and you'll see what it means."

"Three blasts upon his horn he blew,

Each mounting high and higher,
Come forth, my Merry Men, quoth he,
And hear me strike the liar.'

I understand about the horn now, Friar. But who are you making the liar?"

"Not me, I hope," put in Little John. "If so, I'll knock your head off, you
bounder."

Friar Tuck took a hasty peep at the manuscript. "Excuse me a moment,"

he said. "Did I write 'liar' instead of 'lyre'? Slip of the pen. Alter it, Robin."
 "No, I'll let it stand; it's funnier," said Robin. "Get your ears back for the
next spasm, friends:—

"'And withal Robin danced like fun,

And cried, Hey diddle, diddle,
While Little John his cornet blew
And David scraped his fiddle.'

Here, hold on a bit, Friar. Fiddles they may have had in Robin's time—I'm
not sure of it—but cornets weren't invented. Even if they had been, Flenton
couldn't play one."

"This is that Little John, not this one," the Friar pleaded. "Cut the cornet
out, Robin, and make it what you like."

"Nay," said Robin, "this is your funeral, not mine. Here's the Tinker with
his picture. Hope the Royal Academy folk won't be jealous."

The Tinker's gait was almost a swagger. Whatever others might think of
his picture, the artist himself was evidently convinced of its dazzling merits.

"Just dashed it off after lunch," he said airily. "Can do you a dozen more
like it, if you'll let me have the paper."

"Sorry, Tinker; must leave room for another genius or two," said Robin.
"By Jove, these are clinking cows. Could almost fancy I could hear them
'moo'."

"Cows, carrots!" exclaimed the Tinker. "Chuck pulling my leg—no cows

there, Robin."

"What are they, then? Buffaloes?"

"Oh, stop kidding, Robin. You know very well those are flamingoes,
drawn to the life from the Zoo."

"Right!" said Robin. "We'll mark them with a capital 'F', and put
'Flamingoes' in a footnote. The others describe themselves. These
hippopotami, for instance——"
 "Look here, Robin, you're trying to be smart," said the Tinker, in
aggrieved tones. "You must surely see those are laughing hyenas."

"Ah, to be sure," agreed Robin. "They're laughing at those sore-eyed

zebras in the corner. I see now."

"Oh, this is beyond a joke," growled the angry Tinker. "Can't tell tigers
from zebras! Here, let's point them all out to you before you muddle them
up any more."

"Later on, old chap," Robin told him, putting the picture in his pocket-
book. "Time's scarce now. Here's the Miller with his butterflies. More
R.A.'s than authors amongst the Merry Men, evidently."

The Miller's butterflies washed out the rainbow in vivid colouring. They
were having a glorious feed in a wonderful garden, the only flaw wherein
was that daffodils, roses, hollyhocks and chrysanthemums were all
blooming simultaneously. Another minor detail was that some of the
butterflies seemed as big as crows, altogether dwarfing the flowers. It was,
indeed, a scene of tropical splendour!

"Bravo!" cried Robin, heaving a sigh of relief. "This'll do O.K."

The earlier contributors, with the exception of Allan a Dale, shot a

jealous glance at the Miller, grudging him Robin's praise. All unconsciously
their leader had deeply wounded their pride.

Too anxiously occupied with his editorial duties to notice the clouds that
were gathering, Robin turned next to David of Doncaster, whose
contribution proved rather a shocker. It was called "Celebrated Executions
—written and illustrated by David Storm."

"I say, Dave, what a hang-dog ruffian you are!" Robin exclaimed, trying
to hide his dismay under a laugh. "This makes milk-and-water of the
Chamber of Horrors. Charles the First, Anne Boleyn, Sir Walter Raleigh,
Lady Jane Grey—heads flying about like tennis balls. As for the hangings,
they're positively gruesome. Charles Peace, Palmer the Poisoner, Neil
Cream, Mrs. Dyer, and nine or ten more of 'em on the gallows—I shan't
sleep to-night if I look at this much longer."

"Won't you put it in, then, Robin?" asked Dave anxiously.

"Oh, rather, Dave!" Robin said. "It shall face the Tinker's frisky Zoo.
That'll be a foil for it. Any other gentleman obliging with a contribution
before the tea-bell rings?"

There was a slight pause, and then another Merry Man, known to the
band as The Tanner, timidly handed in a written attempt.

"Oh, a short story," Robin commented. "That's a change from verse and
pictures, anyhow."

He took it nearer to the lamp and commenced to read aloud. It ran as

follows:—

"'She was dead. Dear, gentle, patient, noble Nell was

dead. Her little bird—a poor slight thing the pressure or a
finger would have crushed—was stirring nimbly in its cage;
and the strong heart of its child-mistress was mute and
motionless for ever.'

"Why," said Robin, breaking off at this point, "it sounds like something
I've read before somewhere."

"I should jolly well think it does," Dave interjected indignantly. "My
sister recited that at the Parsonage party last Christmas. It's the 'Death of
Little Nell', from Dickens' Old Curiosity Shop."

"You young beggar, you've prigged it!" Robin accused him.

The shamefaced copyist tried to brave it out.

"Well, what if I did?" he asked defiantly. "You only gave us two days'
grace, and I got three separate headaches trying to do something funny."
 "You should have just sent in your photograph and saved yourself the
trouble," said Dave.

Robin pocketed the contribution rather dejectedly, and was relieved

when the clanging of the tea-bell saved him from further criticism.

"Meet me round the bonfire in the Forest to-morrow afternoon, my

men," he said. "There'll be the usual quantity of venison pasties to give the
magazine a start."

On a sharp and invigorating afternoon, when the crackling bonfire was a

sheer delight, they feasted right jovially on the contents of Robin's pack. It
was a far finer spread than ever he had given them before, and he was the
soul of good temper throughout. Finally, when all were satisfied, he drew
from his pocket a sewn-up copy of the magazine.

"List ye, my Merry Men. Right earnestly have ye striven to fill to

overflowing the pages of our first number. Yet, by my troth, now that it is
done and put together, it likes me not. It is a dud, a frost, a fizzle, a wash-
out."

There was a chorus of disappointed cries.

"Why, Robin, what's amiss with it?" asked Little John, in consternation.

"Amiss with it?" echoed Robin. "Look here at the title-page. What saith
it? The Merry Men's Magazine. What's bound to be expected of a 'mag.'
with a name like that? Fun and frolic from first page to last. I turn to page
23. What do I find? An article on famous executions. A bright and cheerful
subject! Page 24 introduces us to 'The Deathbed in the Shop'. Page 27 tells
us how a party of old Foxes walked into a sandbank and never were seen
again. Page 31 contains 'Curious Graveyard Epitaphs'——"

"They were funny ones," put in the compiler of them, protestingly.

"Funny as a boiling lobster," retorted Robin. "How about this one?

 "'The poor boy here was starved at school,
One meal a day was this school's rule.'

Very funny, I don't think—being starved to death. Then what price this one:

"'Here lies the body of young Jim Sawner,

Of him his mother is a mourner.
To you youths let this be a warner—
Grim Death lies waiting round the corner.'

That's the sort of stuff undertakers sit up all night reading," said Robin, "but
Foxes would drop big ink-blots on it. Then, to finish up, page 34 is a picture
called 'Early Christian Martyrs thrown to the Lions'. Fancy them coming
early-doors for that! I admit it's a good picture—but where's the merriment
come in?"

"You're pretty down on all of us, Robin," said Little John ruefully.

"No, chaps," replied Robin, seriously. "I don't want us to make fools of
ourselves, that's all. I was an ass to start this magazine. If it passed round
Foxenby we'd be the laughing-stock of the place. Poke the fire up, Dave—
that's the ticket. A lovely blaze. Here's a bit more fuel to keep it going."

With that he suddenly cast the magazine into the heart of the flames,
while the others gasped with amazement at the sacrifice.

Thus perished the first and last number of the Merry Men's Magazine,
and neither the editor of the Foxonian nor the co-editors of Rooke's House
Rag ever knew how near they had come to the sudden eclipse of their
greatness.

CHAPTER XXIV
 The Three-cornered Tournament

Never had the Squirms, as a body, succeeded in scoring points over the
Merry Men. Duffers at football and cricket, which they only played because
both were compulsory, slackers in the gymnasium, and too flabby to shine
in athletic sports, their chief recreations were indoor ones which did not fret
their fat, such as chess, draughts, and dominoes.

At these three games they frequently played to pass away the long winter
evenings, while other boys indulged in gymnastics and boxing.
Consequently, quite a number of them became, through constant practice,
fairly proficient in table games—certainly far cleverer at them than other
Foxes of their own age, who seldom cared to play with them.

"I've got a rattling good idea for taking the starch out of Robin and his
gang," Osbody announced to a little group of Squirms. "Their beastly heads
are swollen to the size of balloons over the flukey way they nabbed the
burglars. Odious to see them swanking about, isn't it, chaps?"

"Makes me sick," agreed Grain.

"Positively nauseating to hear Old Man Wykeham puffing 'em up sky-

high," said Niblo. "Special holiday in their honour, indeed!"

"I vote we all stick in the class-room and swot that day, just to show our
contempt for it," suggested Vinns, a boy with a rather uncanny gift for
mathematics—the only Squirm who had ever distinguished himself in a
scholastic way.

"Swot yourself, Professor Vinns," snorted Grain. "I'd swop all my

school-books for a penny bag of popcorn. Time to wonder how to spend the
holiday when it comes. Just now, I'm waiting to hear 'Body's plan for
wiping Arkness's eye."

"It's this," said Osbody. "Half the Merry Men (as they have the cheek to
call themselves) scarcely know one end of a chess-board from another.
Dominoes are just slabs of wood to them. Draughts make them shiver."

"Granting all that," said Niblo, "I don't see what you're driving at."

"Well, we all want to take Robin's conceited 'crush' down a peg, I

guess?"

"Rather! Aching for the chance."

"Then it's yours for the asking. Not to make a song of it, I've written
something on a sheet of paper which, if you're all agreeable, I shall send to
Arkness to-night. Listen, and I'll read it."

He smoothed out a sheet of foolscap, cleared his throat, and began:

"We, the Foxenby Junior Games Club, hereby challenge Robin Hood
and his Merry Men to a three-cornered tournament, viz: Games of Chess,
Draughts, and Dominoes, to be played in the Holbeck House Games-room
on Friday evening next."

"Oh, great gingerbreads, that's ripping!" said Niblo.

"Best idea ever!" said Vinns.

"Humph!" grunted Grain. "Must be grass-green, both of you, if you

fancy they'll rise to a bait like that."

Osbody looked annoyed. Grain's habit of throwing cold water on

everything he suggested was always a thorn in the flesh of the leader of the
Squirms.

"See nothing to sneer about, Grain," he snapped. "Why shouldn't they

bite?"

"They'll make paper pellets of the challenge," Grain persisted. "What

asses they would be to play us on our own pitch, so to speak, at games they
don't stand an earthly in. Fancy Arkness bringing his men like lambs to the
slaughter! He's too fly for that!"
 "I agree," said Niblo, with a sigh of disappointment. "It won't come off,
'Body, old man. Better make paper boats of the challenge than give Robin
the chance to be sarcastic about it."

"Yes," said Vinns. "He's confoundedly clever at writing skits."

But Osbody stubbornly declined to be talked out of his venture. "Stow

your jaw, everybody," he said. "This challenge is going, whatever you say.
I'm positive it's the only way of taking a rise out of Arkness and his
Shrubbery hooligans."

"It'll come back like a boomerang," growled Grain.

"Well, if it does, only my head will suffer, for I shall sign it," said
Osbody. "Here, younker," he broke off, collaring a First-form boy who was
trying to slip past, "take this paper to Robin Arkness, in Rooke's House.
Look alive, now."

Five minutes later Robin was reading out the challenge to a group of
Merry Men in the "gym". Its arrival quite knocked the steam out of a ding-
dong glove-fight between Little John and Friar Tuck, old rivals in pugilism.
They ceased banging each other and gathered round Robin with the rest.

"What a beastly lot of one-eyed badgers," exclaimed David of Doncaster.

"Rather!" agreed Will Scarlet. "Licked at everything that matters, they

want to draw us into chimney-corner and parish-tea games."

"No jolly fear," said Little John. "Chess always gives me a headache."

"Same here," said the Miller.

"I always end by building castles with my dominoes," said the Tinker.

"Draughts strikes me as a sort of girl's game," another Merry Man put in.

"Allan a Dale's the only man we have who can play all three games
decently," the Tanner declared.
 "Good idea," said Dave. "Set Allan on playing Osbody, and we'll all
stand round to watch."

Shy Allan hastily declined the honour, whereupon Robin, having waited
for the hubbub to subside, gave his opinion.

"Cheek in chunks, but artful—particularly artful," he said. "We don't

want to play the Squirms at games. We don't want to sit in the same room
with them. We'd rather play snakes-and-ladders with the Tinker's
flamingoes at the Zoo."

"We would indeed!" cried Will Scarlet. "Send him a snorting answer,
Robin."

"Refuse the challenge, do you mean?" queried Robin.

"I should say so, thumbs down."

Robin shook his head sadly. "We can't," he groaned. "If we did, they'd
never afterwards cease yapping at us. Oh, yes, I can see you staring at me,
but what would you say, chaps, if Osbody put up his dukes to me in the
Shrubbery and sang out 'Come on'?"

"We'd tell you to go for him, Robin, like old steam."

"Just so. It would be a challenge, and you'd expect me to take it. If he

said, 'I'll race you up the Moston Church-side to the steeple', daft though
that would be, I'd have to climb with him. Twig what I mean, boys? The
Merry Men's reputation is at stake. We cannot refuse."

Many of them decidedly differed from this opinion. Why, they argued,
should they give the Squirms the chance of scalping them in a tournament
of Osbody's own choosing? But Robin was not to be shaken.

"I'll put that right, chaps," he said. "Give me two minutes while I answer
the challenge."

He scribbled furiously for a time and then read out the following:
 "We, the Merry Men, accept the challenge of the Foxenby Junior Games
Club to play them at Chess, Draughts, and Dominoes on Friday evening
next IF they will agree to play us at football on the following Wednesday
afternoon.

"(Signed) Robin Hood."

"Good!" exclaimed David of Doncaster. "That's a facer for them, Robin."

"You've turned their flanks," commented Will Scarlet. "The mere

thought of meeting us at footer will make them goggle-eyed."

"It'll wash out the Games Tournament, hurrah!" cried Little John,
intensely relieved.

"Don't be too cocksure of that, fellows," said Robin, gloomily. "I hope it
will, but we've got to be ready for anything."

He found a messenger to carry the answer to Osbody, whose face

lengthened somewhat as he read it aloud to his cronies.

"There, you've let us in for it now!" cried Grain, angrily. "Didn't I warn
you the boomerang would come back? Fancy having to play 'em at football!
The bare idea gives me a stitch in my side."

It was a turning of the tables which the Squirms had not even remotely
anticipated, and they followed Grain's lead in heaping reproaches on
Osbody's head. But he, too, had a will of his own, combined with a gift of
leadership almost equal to that of Robin.

"Chaps," he said, "have I ever failed you as a leader of this band? We

have had some pretty rough times—when did I ever show funk?"

They were compelled to admit that he had stood by them through thick
and thin.
 "Very well, then," said Osbody. "Either I'm to have the pleasure of
leading you to victory once in a while, or the whole bag-o'-tricks goes
overboard. Football or no football afterwards, we're playing this games'
tournament on Friday evening."

Grain's crafty eyes lit up with sudden hope. "Nobody's indispensable,"

he said, significantly.

Osbody shot a fiery glance at his rival. "Let the fellows choose!" he
snapped. "I'll have my way, or go."

If Grain had any serious hopes of stepping into Osbody's shoes at that
moment, his disappointment must have been intense. Fully twenty of the
Squirms were present, and they crowded round Osbody with assurances of
loyalty that did them credit.

"You're right, 'Body," said "Professor" Vinns. "Revenge is sweet, and for
once we'll have it."

"So we will," said Niblo. "At chess, draughts, and dominoes we'll make
crawling worms of them. They shall taste the dust beneath our feet."

"Just as we shall taste the mud beneath their boots when the football
match comes off," sneered Grain, savagely.

"Rats to the old football match!" said Niblo. "If necessary, we will play
two goalkeepers to hold the score down. Friday comes before Wednesday,
and thrice-armed is he who gets his blow in first."

In the few remaining days before the tournament some of the Merry Men
tried desperately hard to rub up their knowledge of indoor games. Allan a
Dale, bashful and slow-spoken as a rule, became almost as loud-voiced as a
drill-sergeant in his efforts to teach chess and draughts to his chums.

Lovers of the open-air as they were, their thoughts were continually

wandering from the chequered board. Robin alone made satisfactory
progress. It was up to him, he believed, to set his men a good example,
though all his eloquence failed to keep Little John longer at the chess-board
than fifteen minutes at a time.

"I shall just move the pieces anyhow and trust to luck," Little John said.

"Then your opponent will wipe the floor with you."

"If he does," said Little John, grimly, "let him look out for himself when
I meet him on the football-field, that's all."

Generally speaking, it was this thought of out-door revenge which

sustained the dejected Merry Men when they took their seats for the
tournament on Friday evening.

Osbody had arranged the order of things most craftily. First came
dominoes, as the game in which there was only a slight element of skill. It
was natural that the Merry Men would score a few points at dominoes,
though three-fourths of them were well-beaten, Robin and Allan being
amongst the losers.

The Squirms were openly exultant. Even Osbody had difficulty in

repressing a triumphant smile.

"Draughts next," announced the leader of the Squirms. "Any particular

fancy about pairing off, Arkness?"

"I'll play you," said Robin. "The other fellows can sort themselves out as
they like."

Osbody whispered something to Vinns, who casually dropped into a

chair opposite Allan a Dale. This was a pre-arranged plan, for "Professor"
Vinns was as weirdly clever at board-games as he was at mathematics, and
all Allan a Dale's skill proved powerless to prevent him winning. Their
game lasted longest, but the result was never in doubt. Allan, the hope of
the Merry Men, was cornered and beaten.

No sum of subtraction was needed to reckon the tally in favour of the

Squirms. They had won every game but two drawn ones, Osbody having
failed to beat Robin, and Grain having found in Will Scarlet an opponent
too tough to knock out.

"Something like an evening's sport," commented Osbody.

"Most enjoyable," murmured Niblo.

These happy meetings ought to become a permanent feature," said

"Professor" Vinns, beaming over his glasses at his crestfallen opponent.

"I beg to differ," said Robin. "Not in an atmosphere like this, anyhow.
Phew! I can scarcely breathe! I vote we have all the windows open, chaps;
the place is like a furnace."

Some of the Merry Men ran at once to the window-cords, but Osbody
violently protested.

"Windows open be hanged!" he cried. "It's freezing outside. There's a

sea-breeze that cuts like a knife. We should all get our deaths of cold."

"Rubbish!" retorted Robin. "Fresh air never harmed anyone. Better to

shiver than be baked alive. I feel like a bread-loaf in an oven."

"I can't help that," snapped Osbody. "I hate to sit in a draught. What do
you other fellows say?"

The Squirms unanimously agreed with their leader. It would, they said,
be like courting almost certain death from influenza or pneumonia to open
the windows on such a night.

"Well," said Robin, "it comes to this: we want air and you want
suffocation. What's the polite rule in these cases? The visiting team is given
the choice. Are you for ventilation, my Merry Men?"

"Ay, ay, Robin!" the Merry Men cried, with one voice.

"Fresh-air fiends!" snorted Grain.

"We shan't agree," said Osbody.

 "Right you are," cried Robin easily. "There's only one thing to do, then.
We'll leave the tournament as it is, and call it a draw."

The Squirms stared at one another in blank consternation. To be robbed

of their sweeping victory in this freakish fashion was a misfortune not to be
borne.

"Tommy-rot!" exclaimed Osbody. "We haven't played a single chess-

game yet."

"Funkpots!" sneered Grain. "You're afraid to see it through."

For answer Robin pulled down the upper part of a big window and his
Merry Men followed his lead, flooding the over-heated room with sweet
night air.

"There, that's better!" cried Robin. "Carry on with the chess."

The Squirms were outmanoeuvred. They had either to abandon full and
complete victory or finish the tournament in a torrent of air which swept
their score-cards to the floor. So, with sinking hearts, and the sourest of
faces, they turned up their coat-collars and decided to "stick it".

At chess most of the Merry Men went down like ninepins, some of them
having difficulty in distinguishing knights from bishops.

Once again the Squirms swept the board. Allan a Dale and Robin, by
dint of mental gymnastics which made their heads swim, wrung draws from
Vinns and Osbody respectively; but these partial successes only threw the
general rout of the Merry Men into stronger relief. Just as they had
expected, they were decisively and ignominiously thrashed.

Immediately the Squirms became a Mutual Admiration Society. Hands

were wrung and shoulders were slapped, and in every way the Merry Men
were made to feel that they were very small potatoes indeed. In unutterable
disgust at such exceedingly bad taste, they trooped to the door.