Radiation - Target Interactions

Interaction that can take place when energy strikes,

or is incident (I) upon the surface:

1. absorption (A)
2. transmission (T)
3. reflection (R)
• Absorption (A)
– radiation (energy) is absorbed into the target.
• Transmission (T)
– radiation passes through a target.
• Reflection (R)
– radiation "bounces" off the target and is
redirected.

# R/S most interested in measuring the

radiation reflected from targets.
 Radiation reflection
Two ways in which energy is reflected from a target.
1. specular reflection
- specular or mirror-like reflection where all (or
almost all) of the energy is directed away from the
surface in a single direction.
- happen to smooth/flat surface.
2. diffuse reflection
- the surface is rough and the energy is reflected
almost uniformly in all directions
Specular reflection Diffuse reflection
• Most earth surface features lie somewhere
between perfectly specular or perfectly diffuse
reflectors.
• specularly or diffusely - depends on the surface
roughness
• wavelengths are much smaller than the surface
variations or the particle sizes that make up the
surface, diffuse reflection will dominate.
• fine-grained sand would appear fairly smooth to
long wavelength microwaves but would appear
quite rough to the visible wavelengths
 Examples of targets at the Earth's
surface
1. Leaves
- chlorophyll strongly absorbs red and blue but reflects green.
- leaves appear "greenest" to us in the summer, when
chlorophyll content is at its maximum. In autumn ?
- near-infrared wavelengths - appear extremely bright to eyes.
- measuring and monitoring the near-IR reflectance is one way
that scientists can determine how healthy (or unhealthy)
vegetation may be (The internal structure of healthy leaves act)
2. Water
absorbed more - longer
wavelength visible and near
infrared radiation than shorter
visible wavelengths.

- water 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 upper layers of the

water body, then this will allow better reflectivity and a brighter
appearance of the water.

- Suspended sediment (S) can be easily confused with shallow (but

clear) water, since these two phenomena appear very similar.
- The water surface (rough, smooth, floating materials, etc.) – more
complications of interpretation - due to specular reflection +
influences on colour and brightness.
Spectral response

• responses to the mechanisms of absorption,

transmission, and reflection.
• water and vegetation - similarly in the visible wl but
separable in the infrared.
• to distinguish between them – use variety wavelength.
• 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.
• the colours we perceive are a combination of these
radiation interactions (absorption, transmission,
reflection), and represent the wavelengths being
reflected. If all visible wavelengths are reflected from an
object, it will appear white, while an object absorbing all
visible wavelengths will appear colourless, or black.
 Passive vs. Active Sensing
• passive sensors
- measure energy that is naturally available.
- can only be used when natural energy is occur - when
the sun is illuminating the Earth.
- no reflected energy available from the sun at night
accept naturally emitted (such as thermal infrared).
• Active sensors
– provide their own energy source for illumination.
– sensor emits radiation which is directed toward the
target and measured the radiation reflected.
– ability to obtain measurements anytime and season.
– better control of wavelength for any purposes
(targeted).
– Examples: a laser fluorosensor and a synthetic
aperture radar (SAR).
 Camera

Speed trap device

Is there a passive equivalent to the radar

sensor?
 Characteristics of Images
- contain images and photographs , the different -
in remote sensing.
- images - refers to any pictorial representation,
regardless of what wavelengths or remote
sensing device has been used to detect and
record the electromagnetic energy.
- photographs - refers specifically to images that
have been detected as well as recorded on
photographic film (0.3 μm to 0.9 μm) - the
visible and reflected infrared.
-represented and displayed in a digital format by subdividing
the image into small equal-sized and shaped areas, called
picture elements or pixels, and representing the brightness of
each area with a numeric value or digital number.
Photographs
- refers specifically to images that have been
detected as well as recorded on photographic film
(0.3 μm to 0.9 μm) - the visible and reflected
infrared.

- represented and displayed in a digital format by

subdividing the image into small equal-sized and
shaped areas, called picture elements or pixels, and
representing the brightness of each area with a
numeric value or digital number.
- all photographs are images, but not all images are photographs
• Channel / band
– ranges of wavelengths used in r/s. eg: blue,
green, and red
– represented relative brightness (i.e. the
digital value (DN))

Single channel Multiple channel

• B/W :
– actually displaying that channel through all
three primary colours
– because the brightness level of each pixel is
the same for each primary colour, they
combine to form a black and white image.
• Colour
– display more than one channel each as a
different primary colour.