Temporal Resolution

Temporal resolution, well defined in the field of remote sensing, is one of four major resolutions that characterize a remote sensing system; the others are spectral, spatial, and radiometric resolutions. Temporal resolution is the length of time that has elapsed between measurements and captures the rate of data collection for a particular area. It can range from seconds to hours to days to years. Temporal resolution defines the minimum length of time over which an event can occur to be discernible in the database. For example, satellite images acquired for a forested landscape every year during the summer season will not capture phonological changes. Temporal resolution also plays an important role in geographic information science (GIScience) because all geographic data are defined with regard to ...