Spectral Reflectance of Earth

Surface Features.
 Quality of Sun’s Energy
1. Absorbed by atmosphere
2. Scattered by atmosphere
Rayleigh scatter
Mie scatter
Effect on photography
3. Effect of solar angle
 Types of Scatter
Rayleigh scatter caused by molecules
smaller than the wavelength.
Modeled by λ-4
Mie scatter caused by particles larger
than the wavelength.
Modeled by λ-4 to 0
 Wavelength Dependence of
45.00 Scattering
40.00

35.00

30.00

25.00

20.00
R a yle igh
15.00
M ie -3
10.00 M ie -.2

5.00

0.00
0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Wa v e le n g t h ( m ic ro m e t e rs )
 Contrast Ratio
CR = Brightest/Darkest = 5/2 = 2.5

5 + 5ATM/2 + 5ATM = 10/7 = 1.4

= Loss of contrast and resolution

Effect of Solar Angle
 Reflectance From Objects
1. Influence of surface roughness
Fresnel surface
Lambertian surface
 Fresnel Surface
Roughness is less than a wavelength
A specular surface
 Lamberts Cosine Law
The reflected luminous intensity in any
direction from a perfectly diffusing
surface varies as the cosine of the angle
between that direction and the normal
vector of the surface.
As a consequence, the luminance of
that surface is the same regardless of
the viewing angle.
 Reflectance From Objects

2. Properties of most important objects

Plants
Leaf structure, color, moisture
Plant reflectance curves
Make a Vegetation Index
 Normalized Difference
Vegetative Index
NIR-RED/NIR+RED
Green vegetation example:
50-10/50+10 = 0.67

Red vegetation example:

50-25/50+25 = 0.33
Reflectance From Objects
Soil
Particle size
Wetness
Organic matter
Mineralogy
Soil reflectance curves
Particle Size
Wetness
Wetness
Organic Matter, Mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy
Exposed Mineralogy
Soil Reflectance Curves
Reflectance From Objects
Rocks
Lichens
Rock reflectance curves (see Siegal and
Gillespie)
Water
Clear
With sediment
With algae
Rock Surface
Water Penetration, Color
Water Penetration, NIR
Water and Sediment
Vegetation in Water, Color
Vegetation in Water, NIR