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Week-2 Module-1 Interaction Mechanism of EM Radiation With Ground and Spectral Response Curves

The document introduces the interactions between electromagnetic radiation and ground targets in remote sensing. It discusses the three main types of interactions - absorption, transmission and reflection - and how the proportions of each depends on wavelength and target properties. Specular and diffuse reflection are described for different surface roughnesses. Examples are given of the spectral responses of leaves, water and their constituents like chlorophyll and suspended sediments. Understanding these radiation-target interactions is crucial for interpreting remote sensing data and distinguishing different ground features.

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AKASH MAURYA
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181 views15 pages

Week-2 Module-1 Interaction Mechanism of EM Radiation With Ground and Spectral Response Curves

The document introduces the interactions between electromagnetic radiation and ground targets in remote sensing. It discusses the three main types of interactions - absorption, transmission and reflection - and how the proportions of each depends on wavelength and target properties. Specular and diffuse reflection are described for different surface roughnesses. Examples are given of the spectral responses of leaves, water and their constituents like chlorophyll and suspended sediments. Understanding these radiation-target interactions is crucial for interpreting remote sensing data and distinguishing different ground features.

Uploaded by

AKASH MAURYA
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Remote Sensing

Interaction mechanism of EM radiation with ground and


spectral response curves
Dr. Arun K. Saraf,
Professor
Department of Earth Sciences

1
Radiation - Target Interactions
• Radiation that is not absorbed or scattered in the
atmosphere can reach and interact with the
Earth's surface.
• There are three forms of interaction that can take
place when energy strikes, or is incident (I) upon
the surface.
• These are: Absorption (A); Transmission (T)
Reflection (R)
• The total incident energy will interact with the
surface in one or more of these three ways. The
proportions of each will depend on the
wavelength of the energy and the material and
condition of the feature.
Radiation - Target Interactions

 In remote sensing, we are most interested in measuring the radiation reflected from
targets.

 We refer to two types of reflection, which represent the two extreme ends of the way
in which energy is reflected from a target:
Specular reflection and Diffuse reflection.
Radiation - Target Interactions

 When a surface is smooth we get specular or mirror-like reflection where all (or almost all) of the energy
is directed away from the surface in a single direction.
 Diffuse reflection occurs when the surface is rough and the energy is reflected almost uniformly in all
directions.
 Most earth surface features lie somewhere between perfectly specular or perfectly diffuse reflectors.
 Whether a particular target reflects specularly or diffusely, or somewhere in between, depends on the
surface roughness of the feature in comparison to the wavelength of the incoming radiation.
Radiation - Target Interactions

 If the wavelengths are much smaller than the surface variations or the
particle sizes that make up the surface, diffuse reflection will dominate.
 For example, fine grained sand would appear fairly smooth to long
wavelength microwaves but would appear quite rough to the visible
wavelengths.
Radiation - Target Interactions
• Leaves: Chlorophyll strongly absorbs
radiation in the red and blue wavelengths
but reflects green wavelengths.
• Leaves appear "greenest" to us in the
summer, when chlorophyll content is at
its maximum.
• In autumn, there is less chlorophyll in the
leaves, so there is less absorption and
proportionately more reflection of the red
wavelengths, making the leaves appear
red or yellow (yellow is a combination of
red and green wavelengths).
Radiation - Target Interactions
• The internal structure of healthy leaves
act as excellent diffuse reflectors of near-
infrared wavelengths.
• If our eyes were sensitive to near-infrared,
trees would appear extremely bright to us
at these wavelengths.
• In fact, measuring and monitoring the
near-IR reflectance is one way that
Green : 0.500 - 0.578 µm
scientists can determine how healthy (or
IR : 0.7 µm to 3.0 µm
unhealthy) vegetation may be.
Radiation - Target Interactions
Radiation - Target Interactions
• Water: Longer wavelength visible and near
infrared radiation is absorbed more by water
than shorter visible wavelengths.
• Thus water typically looks blue or blue-green
due to stronger reflectance at these shorter
wavelengths, and darker if viewed at red or
near infrared wavelengths.
• If there is suspended sediment present in the
Violet: 0.400 - 0.446 µm
Blue: 0.446 - 0.500 µm upper layers of the water body, then this will
Green: 0.500 - 0.578 µm allow better reflectivity and a brighter
Yellow: 0.578 - 0.592 µm
Orange: 0.592 - 0.620 µm appearance of the water.
Red: 0.620 - 0.700 µm
Radiation - Target Interactions
• Water: Suspended sediment (S) can be easily
confused with shallow (but clear) water, since these
two phenomena appear very similar.
• Chlorophyll in algae absorbs more of the blue
wavelengths and reflects the green, making the
water appear more green in colour when algae is
present.
• The topography of the water surface (rough, smooth,
floating materials, etc.) can also lead to
complications for water-related interpretation due to
potential problems of specular reflection and other
influences on colour and brightness.
Radiation - Target Interactions
• By measuring the energy that is
reflected (or emitted) by
targets on the Earth's surface
over a variety of different
wavelengths, we can build up a
spectral response for that
object.

Violet: 0.400 - 0.446 µm • By comparing the response


Blue: 0.446 - 0.500 µm patterns of different features
Green: 0.500 - 0.578 µm
Yellow: 0.578 - 0.592 µm we may be able to distinguish
Orange: 0.592 - 0.620 µm between them.
Red: 0.620 - 0.700 µm
Radiation - Target Interactions
• For example, water and vegetation
may reflect somewhat similarly in
the visible wavelengths but are
almost always separable in the
infrared.
• Spectral response can be quite
variable, even for the same target
type, and can also vary with time
(e.g. "green-ness" of leaves) and
location.
• Understanding the factors which
Violet: 0.400 - 0.446 µm
Blue: 0.446 - 0.500 µm
influence the spectral response of
Green: 0.500 - 0.578 µm
the features of interest are critical
Yellow: 0.578 - 0.592 µm
to correctly interpreting the
Orange: 0.592 - 0.620 µm
interaction of electromagnetic
Red: 0.620 - 0.700 µm radiation with the surface.
Radiation - Target Interactions
THANKS

15

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