Electromagnetic Energy and

Remote Sensing

Sadia Shrikh
Lecturer GIS, Youtube
Energy Interaction in the
Atmosphere
• Path length of Energy

• Effect of Atmosphere

• Type of Radiation
 Energy Interaction in the Atmosphere

• Atmosphere as being between the sun and the ground

and between the ground and the remote sensor.
• Three fundamental interactions are possible.

• Absorption
• Transmission
• Scattering
Energy Interaction in the
Atmosphere
Energy Interaction in the Atmosphere:
Absorption
Absorption occurs when EM radiation/energy is
absorbed by molecules present in the
atmosphere.

3 Major Atmospheric Constituents which absorb

EM Radiation:
• Ozone (Gamma to Ultraviolet)
• Water Vapor
• Carbon Dioxide
Energy Interaction in the Atmosphere
Transmission
•Some wavelengths are transmitted
through Earth’s atmosphere with little
absorption
•Ranges of wavelengths that can get
through the atmosphere (be
transmitted) are known as
atmospheric windows
 Energy Interaction in the
Atmosphere:
Scattering
• Atmospheric Scattering is the unpredictable diffusion
of radiation by particles in the atmosphere. The
amount of scattering depends on several factors.
• Wavelength of the radiation
• Amount of particles and gasses
• Distance the radiation pass through the
atmosphere
• Scattering occurs when particles or large gas
molecules present in the atmosphere interact with
and cause EM radiation to be redirected from its
original path. Affects shorter wavelengths.
• In the absence of particles and scattering the sky
would appear black.
• At sunrise and sunset the sunlight travels a longer
distance through the atmosphere
Types of Scattering

• Rayleigh Scattering (blue light)

• Mie Scattering (red and infrared)
• Nonselective Scattering (all light)
Rayleigh Scattering
• When Particles are smaller than coming wavelength
• Shorter waves scatter more than longer waves
• Rayleigh scattering causes a blue sky in day time, red
and orange during sunset.
Mie Scattering

• When waves are similar than the particles.

• The most important cause of Mie scattering are aerosols(mixture
of gases, water vapor and dust)
• It is generally restricted to lower atmosphere where larger
particles are more abundant and dominates under overcast cloud
conditions.
• It influence spectral region from near-ultraviolet up to including
the near infrared .
Non Selective Scattering

• When particle size is much larger than the radiation wavelength. like
water droplets and larger dust particles.
• It is independent of wavelength , with all wavelength scattered about
equallly.
Impact of Atmospheric Interaction

Clouds!
Landsat 8 imagery of the
North Coast
Impact of Atmospheric Interaction

Cloud
Shadow
s
Electromagnetic energy is incident on any earth
Surface feature

Three fundamental energy interactions with

the feature are possible

Reflected Absorbed Energy

Energy

Transmitted
Energy
Energy Interaction with the Earth’s Surface
The proportion of energy reflected, absorbed
and transmitted will vary depending on the
surface material and condition

The proportion of energy reflected, absorbed

and transmitted will also vary at different
wavelength
• Absorption (A) occurs when radiation
(energy) is absorbed into the target
• Transmission (T) occurs when radiation
passes through a target.
• Reflection (R) occurs when radiation
"bounces" off the target and is redirected.
Energy Interaction with the Earth Surface
• It has two types of reflection, which represent the
two extreme ends of the way in which energy is
reflected from a target
• Specular Reflection
Specular reflection or mirror like reflection , typically
occur when surface is smooth and all of energy is
directed away from the surface in single direction. It is
most likely to occur when sun is high in sky. Specular
reflection can be caused water surface or glasshouse
roof .
• Diffuse Reflection
Diffuse reflection occurs when the surface is rough and
the energy is reflected almost uniformly in all
directions.
• Usually both are found in reality
Two types of Reflection
Specular Reflection Diffuse Reflection

Most earth surface features lie

somewhere between perfectly
specular or perfectly diffuse
reflectors.
Energy Interaction with the
Earth Surface
 Spectral reflectance
• EMR can either be reflected, absorbed or
transmitted on a surface, and the proportion of
those three will vary at each wavelength for a
given object.
• Reflected E = incident E - absorbed E - transmitted E

• This relationship varies in each wavelength

• Two features may appear similar in the
same wavelength band, but distinguishable in
different wavelength band
 Spectral Reflectance Curve
•An RS sensor can detect spectral responses from objects in
various wavelength ranges.
•Each class of objects has a different spectral responses across
wavelength
•Spectral reflectance values of an object can be plotted on a
graph as a function of wavelength, known as a spectral
reflectance curve.
•Spectral Signature Every natural and artificial object
reflects and emits EMR over a range of wavelengths in its
own chemical composition and physical state. The distinctive
reflectance and emission properties of objects are called
spectral signature. Within some limited wavelength region, a
particular object will usually exhibit a diagnostic spectral
response patterns that differs from other objects
Spectral Response Pattern

•Each object feature class on the earth

has a spectral reflectance curve that
helps us to identify it remotely. This is
why we can use RS to tell the difference
between types of objects
•A spectral response pattern delivers
much more information than a single
pixel value
Reflectance curve of Vegetation
Reflectance curve of Diff. Soil

Reflectance Spectra of surface samples of five mineral soils, a)

Organic dominated. b) Minimally altered. c) Iron altered. d)
Organic affected. e) Iron dominated
Reflectance curve of Water

Typical effects of chlorophyll and sediments on water

reflectance: a) Ocean Water. b) Turbid Water. c) Water with
chlorophyll
Spectral Reflectance Curve

•A spectral reflectance curve for several

very different classes of object; note
how different the responses are
Image of Charleston, South Carolina
• A single band image shows features in various grey tones but if several
images are combined, they can form a color composite. Figure 4 B is a true
color composite image of Charleston, South Carolina. A true color
composite is based on using the red, green, and blue portions of the visible
region of the EM spectrum. This type of composite relates to what the
human eye would see if a person was on a satellite or aircraft looking down
at the Earth. Other band combinations form false color composites.
• Figures 4 A, C, and D represent two different false color composites. A
false color composite generally enhances certain features on an image,
features that might not be as apparent on a true color composite. Using
different color composites is one way that a remote sensing specialist
detects features on the Earth
Active Vs Passive Sensing
• Active sensors: have its own source of light or
illumination. In particular, it actively sends a wave
and measures that backscatter reflected back to it.
Example: Radar , laser have its own source of energy
• Passive sensors: measure reflected sunlight emitted
from the sun. When the sun shines, passive sensors
measure this energy. But more on this later
Active Vs Passive Sensing
Active vs Passive

Active Remote Sensing Passive Remote Sensin