The influence of satellite imagery on landscape perception

The perception of landscapes involves the process of categorising and differentiating surrounds according to sensory information and the experiences of individuals. Increasingly, due to the ubiquitous nature of virtual globe platforms, individuals are accessing visual information about their surrounding environment through satellite imagery. This investigation aims to examine how people’s perceptions of landscapes are changing when our experiences increasingly occur in digital space, altering the perception paradigm from one where individuals analyse direct objects to one where indirect objects are key in the formation of their perceptions. A case study in Chile, South America, is used to explore the influence of satellite imagery with 52 survey participants responding to questions about land use and land cover (LULC) patterns of the area, before and after, unstructured exploration of the region using Google Earth. The results indicate that satellite imagery is influencing how individuals perceive LULC patterns within their direct surroundings.