Lecture 3

Nature of Reflectance

 EMR Characteristics:
• EMR wave is characterized by its:
 Intensity – Amount or degree of strength of
electricity, light, heat, or sound/unit area;
 Polarization – Ray of light exhibiting
different properties in different direction;
 Frequency – How often a periodic event
occurs i.e. a signal going through a complete
cycle;

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  Energy striking an object can be;
 Absorbed – Transfer of energy to an
object, usually in the form of heat;
 Emitted – re-emitted as a function of
temperature and structure at a different
wavelength;
 Scattered – the travel direction of energy
is changed randomly;
- degree of scatter is related to the
wavelength and size of the objects it strike;
 Reflected – energy rebounds unchanged
from the object with the angle of reflection
equal to the angle of incidence;

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  Transmitted – energy passing through the
object but its velocity is changed (refracted).
- Change of velocity as a result of refraction
induces changes in EMR wavelength according
to the equation c = fλ
c = speed of light, f = frequency, and λ =
wavelength on EMR;
 Reradiated – Energy first absorbed then re-
emitted, generally as thermal (heat) radiation;

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  Interaction of EMR:
 With The Atmosphere:
 Absorption;
 Scattering;
 Re-emission
 Refraction
 Reflection
 With Water:
 Transmission;
 Absorption;
 Reflection;
 With Opaque Objects:
 Absorption;
 Reflection;

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  Energy Interaction with the Atmosphere:
 All radiation propagates through the atmosphere;
 Quality of images and data generated by sensors
are affected by atmospheric condition;
 The nature of interaction between EMR with the
atmosphere is therefore important;
 Solar energy passing through the atmosphere can
be modified by the following physical processes;
1) Scattering;
2) Absorption;
3) Refraction;

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  Scattering:
 The redirection of electromagnetic energy by
suspended particulate matter in the atmosphere or
by large gaseous molecules in the atmosphere;
 The amount of scattering depends on the
following:
- size and amount of particles;
- wavelength of radiation;
- depth of atmosphere energy it is passing
through;

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  Rayleigh Scattering (Clear Atmosphere
Scattering):
 Occurs in the absence of impurities in the
atmosphere i.e. atmospheric gasses causing the
scattering of light;
 Interaction with atmospheric particles and tiny
particles much smaller in diameter than the
wavelength of the interacting radiation;
 Inversely related to wavelength;
 Primary cause of “haze” in imagery – visually
diminishing “crispness” and “contrast” of an
image;
 Wave length dependent;

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  Mie Scattering:
 Occurs when atmospheric particles are the same
diameter as the wavelength of the energy
interacting with the atmosphere;
 Caused mostly by water vapour and dust
particles, pollen, smoke ect.;
 Affects longer wavelength energy;
 Non-selective Scattering:
 Occurs when atmospheric particles are larger in
diameter than the wavelength of the energy
interacting with the atmosphere;
 Caused mostly by water droplets;
 Scattering not wavelength dependent;
 Also causes haze;

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  GENERAL EFFECTS OF SCATTERING:
 Radiation in the blue and ultraviolet portion of
the spectrum usually not considered in RS;
- Wavelength dependency of Rayleigh
scattering;
- recording brightness of the atmosphere not
the image;
 Decreasing spatial detail recorded by sensors;
 Can make dark objects appear brighter and
vice versa;
 Degrade the quality of images;


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  Refraction:
 The bending of light rays at the contact surface
between two media that transmit light;
 Also occur as light passes through atmospheric
layers of varying clarity, humidity, and
temperature – i.e. variation in density of the
atmospheric layers;
 Index of refraction (n): the ratio between the
velocity of light in a vacuum (c) to its velocity in
the medium (cn):
n = c/cn

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  Absorption:
 Unlike scattering, absorption results in the loss
of energy to the atmosphere;
 Mostly caused by three atmospheric gasses;
 OZONE - absorbs UV, portions of the UV
spectrum (λ < 0.24 µm) prevents transmission to
the lower atmosphere;
 CARBON DIOXIDE – Effects strongest at lower
atmosphere, absorbs energy in the 13 - 17.5
micrometer region (mid and far infrared);
 WATER VAPOR -Lower atmosphere. Mostly
important in humid areas, very effective at
absorbing in portions of the spectrum between
5.5 and 7.0 µm and above 27.0 µm;

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  Raises the temperature of the particles;
 Causes a "loss" of available energy to the
particles;
 Particles will re-radiate the absorbed energy, but
at a different wavelength;
 Atmospheric Window:
 Areas where wavelengths are easily transmitted
through the atmosphere;
 Position, extents, and effectiveness determined
by the absorption spectra of atmospheric
gasses;
 Defines wavelengths that can be used for
forming images;

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  Wavelength not within the window is severely
attenuated by the atmosphere;

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 Major Atmospheric Windows

Ultraviolet and Visible 0.30-0.70 µm

0.77-0.91 µm
Near infrared 1.55-1.75 µm
2.05-2.40 µm
Thermal infrared 8.0-9.2 µm
10.2-12.4 µm
Microwave 7.5-11.5 mm
20.0 + mm

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  Interactions with Surfaces:
 Reflection:
 Redirection of light rays as it strikes a
nontransparent surface;
 Surface irregularities (i.e. roughness or
smoothness) affects the direction of reflection;
 Specular reflection: smooth surface redirects
most incident radiation in a single direction;
- Angle of incidence = angle of reflection;
 Diffuse or isotropic reflector: relatively rough
surfaces that scatter energy in more or less all
direction – common for many natural surfaces;

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  Lambertain Surface: A perfectly diffused
reflector having equal brightness from any
angle;
 Spectral Properties of objects:
 Learning about objects and features by studying
the radiation reflected and /or emitted;
 Every phenomena has its own distribution of
reflected, emitted, and absorbed radiation;
 Information can be obtained about shape, size,
and other physical and chemical properties;

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  Spectral Responses of Water, Soils, and
Vegetation:
 Water:
 Clear water appears blue because it reflects
EMR energy primarily in the short, blue
wavelength (0.4-0.5 µm);
 Appears black in the reflected IR region (0.8-3.0
µm) because of absorption;
 Shallow water or the presence of suspended
solids will change the reflectance curve;
 Turbid waters reflect more EMR at all visible
wavelengths;

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  Studies of water quality, depth, and turbidity
are best studied using reflectance in the blue
and green region of the visible spectrum (0.4-
0.6 µm);
 IR region is best to detect the interface
between land and water;
 Soils and Rocks:
 Dry, tan, silty soils show a progressive
increase in reflectance at longer wavelengths;
 A brighter response in the visible red (0.6-0.7
µm) and reflected IR (0.7-1.1 µm);
 As moisture content of soil increases spectral
reflectance changes towards a characteristic
water response;

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  Vegetation:
 Lush vegetation appear green because
chlorophyll - reflects the green light;
 Radiation reflectance of vegetation reaches a
maximum in the near-IR between 0.8 and 1.1
µm;
 Maturity and health of natural vegetation can be
assessed from the changes in the reflectance;
- Pigment, and water content vary according to
species, growth stage (young and bright or
dying and yellow), and diseased or under stress
from drought;

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 Source: Wilke & Finn, 1996
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  Types of Information Remotely Sensed:
 Provides basic measurements of a range of
biological and physical characteristics of a
landscape e.g. position, shape, elevation,
temperature, and moisture content;
 Combination of measurements produces a
hybrid or synthetic information describing the
landscape e.g. land use
- Color, shape, location size etc.
 Quantitative biophysical data and information
require an understanding of:
i) How EMR is absorbed, reflected, and emitted
from objects in the landscape; and

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 ii) How radiation reflected or emitted from
landscape objects is altered and attenuated
by the intervening atmosphere and by the
spatial and spectral resolution of the
sensor;
 The amount of radiation from the terrain
recorded by a sensor is a function of:
i) Spectral, radiometric, spatial, and temporal
resolution;
ii) Size, shape, color, orientation, chemical
composition, and water content of terrain
objects;

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 iii) Density, distribution, and juxtaposition of
terrain features within the landscape;
iv) Noise introduced by intervening
atmosphere;

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