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Remote Sensing & GIS in Meteorology (Atmospheric Sciences) Solved Questions & Notes (2026) - Apex Rankers

Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences > Atmospheric Sciences > Remote Sensing & GIS in Meteorology

15 Total Solved Questions
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Remote Sensing & GIS in Meteorology

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Q. 1 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
What is the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) formula used in satellite environmental monitoring?
A
NDVI = (NIR - Red) / (NIR + Red)
✓ Correct
B
NDVI = NIR * Red
C
NDVI = (Blue - Green) / (Blue + Green)
D
NDVI = Thermal IR / Red
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
NDVI = (NIR - Red) / (NIR + Red) exploits the strong absorption of red light by chlorophyll and high reflectance of near-infrared (NIR) radiation by healthy leaf mesophyll structure.
Q. 2 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
What is 'Aerosol Optical Depth' (AOD) retrieved by spaceborne sensors like MODIS and MISR?
A
A measure of the extinction of solar radiation by airborne aerosols in a vertical column of the atmosphere (indicating smog/haze severity)
✓ Correct
B
The physical depth of dust on the ground
C
The thickness of ozone in Dobson units
D
The altitude of the tropopause
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
AOD is a dimensionless measure of solar beam attenuation by aerosols: values > 0.5 to 1.0 indicate hazy conditions or heavy smog, frequently observed over Punjab during winter.
Q. 3 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
Which satellite sensor system operated by NASA on Terra and Aqua satellites provides daily global coverage of fires, aerosols, snow cover, and sea surface temperature?
A
MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)
✓ Correct
B
Hubble Space Telescope
C
Galileo Probe
D
Voyager
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
MODIS on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites views Earth in 36 spectral bands, providing essential environmental data for climate, forestry, and weather models.
Q. 4 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
In satellite remote sensing, what is a 'Sun-Synchronous Orbit'?
A
A near-polar orbit where the satellite passes over any given latitude at the same local solar time each day, ensuring consistent solar illumination geometry
✓ Correct
B
An orbit inside the Sun's corona
C
A stationary orbit over the Equator
D
An orbit that only flies at night
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Sun-synchronous polar orbits (~700-800 km altitude, inclination ~98°) precess eastward at ~1° per day to match Earth's orbital movement around the sun, keeping solar angles constant.
Q. 5 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
What is 'Spatial Resolution' in satellite earth observation?
A
The physical ground dimension represented by a single image pixel (e.g., 250 m, 30 m, 10 m)
✓ Correct
B
The number of color channels
C
The battery life of the satellite
D
The radio transmission frequency
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Spatial resolution refers to the smallest ground footprint distinguishable as an individual pixel on the sensor's detector array.
Q. 6 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
What is 'Temporal Resolution' of an earth-observing satellite system?
A
The revisit time or time elapsed between consecutive image acquisitions over the exact same geographic location
✓ Correct
B
The exposure time of the camera shutter
C
The lifespan of the solar panels
D
The clock accuracy of the onboard computer
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Temporal resolution is the repeat cycle or revisit time of a satellite system (e.g., 15 minutes for geostationary, 16 days for Landsat, 5 days for Sentinel-2).
Q. 7 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
What is 'Spectral Resolution' in optical remote sensing?
A
The number and wavelength bandwidths of the electromagnetic spectrum channels captured by the sensor
✓ Correct
B
The speed of the satellite
C
The height of the orbit
D
The size of the telescope mirror
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Spectral resolution describes the specific electromagnetic wavelength intervals measured by the sensor (panchromatic vs multispectral vs hyperspectral with hundreds of contiguous narrow bands).
Q. 8 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Hard (1 Mark)
What is the 'Normalized Difference Snow Index' (NDSI) used for in mountain snowpack monitoring?
A
NDSI = (Green - SWIR) / (Green + SWIR), distinguishing snow from clouds because snow reflects green light but absorbs shortwave infrared (SWIR)
✓ Correct
B
Measuring the depth of avalanches
C
Measuring the speed of glacier sliding
D
Counting snowflakes
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
NDSI exploits the optical property that snow has high reflectance in visible wavelengths (green) but strong absorption in the 1.6 micrometer SWIR band, whereas water clouds remain highly reflective in both.
Q. 9 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
What is 'Synthetic Aperture Radar' (SAR) and why is it invaluable for flood and landslide monitoring in Pakistan?
A
An active microwave imaging system that can penetrate through clouds, rain, and nighttime darkness to image water inundation and ground deformation
✓ Correct
B
A camera that only takes photos on sunny days
C
A radar mounted on a hot air balloon
D
A system that measures water temperature only
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
SAR (such as Sentinel-1) emits microwave pulses that penetrate clouds, heavy rain, and work day or night. Smooth floodwater specularly reflects radar pulses away, appearing distinctively black.
Q. 10 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Hard (1 Mark)
What is 'Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar' (InSAR)?
A
A technique comparing phase differences between two SAR images acquired at different times to measure millimeter-scale ground displacement (subsidence, fault slip, glacier creep)
✓ Correct
B
A radar measuring car speeds
C
A weather balloon tracking system
D
An ocean depth sounder
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
InSAR exploits electromagnetic wave phase differences across repeat passes to map surface deformation, fault movements, tectonic subsidence, and landslide movements with millimeter precision.
Q. 11 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
What satellite constellation operated by the European Union's Copernicus Programme provides free open-access multispectral imagery (10 m resolution) and C-band SAR radar imagery?
A
Sentinel satellites (Sentinel-1 SAR, Sentinel-2 Optical)
✓ Correct
B
Sputnik
C
GPS constellation
D
Iridium communication satellites
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
The European Copernicus Sentinel missions (Sentinel-1 radar, Sentinel-2 optical, Sentinel-5P atmospheric chemistry) provide standard global environmental monitoring data.
Q. 12 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Hard (1 Mark)
What is the 'Atmospheric Correction' of satellite optical imagery?
A
Removing the scattering and absorption effects of atmospheric gases and aerosols to convert top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiance into true surface reflectance (BOA)
✓ Correct
B
Fixing the orbit of the satellite
C
Calibrating the ground computer clock
D
Changing the color palette of an image
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
Atmospheric correction algorithms model and eliminate Rayleigh scattering, aerosol backscatter, and ozone/water vapor absorption to yield bottom-of-atmosphere (BOA) surface reflectance.
Q. 13 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
What spaceborne radar mission launched jointly by NASA and JAXA revolutionized tropical precipitation measurement using Ku/Ka-band dual-frequency precipitation radar?
A
Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory (and predecessor TRMM)
✓ Correct
B
Voyager 2
C
James Webb Space Telescope
D
Curiosity Rover
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
The GPM Core Observatory (launched 2014, building on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission TRMM) carries the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) to profile rain and snow globally.
Q. 14 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Medium (1 Mark)
What instrument onboard the Sentinel-5P satellite provides daily global maps of atmospheric pollutants such as NO2, SO2, CO, methane, and aerosol index?
A
TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument)
✓ Correct
B
Seismograph
C
Barometer
D
Cup anemometer
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
TROPOMI on Sentinel-5 Precursor provides high-resolution (approx 5.5 x 3.5 km) daily mapping of tropospheric trace gases, tracking urban smog plumes over cities like Lahore and Karachi.
Q. 15 Atmospheric Sciences
Difficulty: Easy (1 Mark)
What is 'Digital Elevation Model' (DEM) in GIS, critical for hydrological modeling and flood inundation simulation?
A
A raster grid representing the topographic elevation of the Earth's bare terrain surface above a vertical datum
✓ Correct
B
A map of underground mines
C
A picture of clouds
D
A database of property boundaries
💡 Step-by-Step Explanation & Concept Rationale
A DEM (such as SRTM or ALOS World 3D) represents ground surface topography as a raster grid of elevation values, essential for watershed delineation, flow routing, and flood simulations.
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