Satellite Remote Sensing

SIO 135/SIO 236

Thermal Radiation
 How is EMR generated?

Radio generated by periodic currents of electric

charges in wires.

Microwave generated by electron tubes that use

the motion of high speed electrons in specially
designed structure to generate E/B fields

Visible high frequency wave in the infrared and

visible are generated by molecular excitation
(vibrational or orbital) followed by decay. The
emitted frequency is exactly related to the
energy difference between the two energy level
of the molecules.

Heat kinetic energy of random motion of particles

of matter. The random motion results in excitation
(electronic, vibrational, rotational) due to collisions
followed by random emission of EM wave during
the decay. Because of its random nature this type
of energy transformation leads to emission over a
wide spectral band.
Thermal Radiation
«  Thermal radiation is emitted by all
objects above absolute zero (-273.15 °C)

«  Spectrum of this radiation (i.e. intensity

vs wavelength) usually follows the
idealized black-body radiation curve

Stefan-Boltzmann law: Total energy emitted

over time by a black body is proportional to T4

Wiens displacement law: The wavelength

of the spectral peak is proportional to T-1
 What is a black body ?

• A black body (BB) emits a

temperature-dependent spectrum of wavelengths in nm
light
•  Thermal radiation from a black body
is termed black-body radiation

• At room temperature, BBs emit

mostly infrared light, but as the
temperature increases past a few
hundred ºC, BBs start to emit visible
wavelengths (shorter and shorter)
red è orangeè yellowè white èblue
beyond this the emission includes
increasing amounts of UV. Wavelength (color) of BB radiation
depends on the temperature of the BB.
 Thermal channels of the EM spectrum

In general a hot object will distribute its emission over a range of wavelengths
in a continuous spectrum.
 What is a black body ?

• A black body is an idealized object that

absorbs all EMR that falls on it -- no EMR
passes through it and none is reflected
(perfect emitter and perfect absorber)

•  Because no light (visible EMR) is

reflected or transmitted, the object appears
black when it is cold.

Term “introduced by Gustav Kirchhoff in 1860.

 Black body lab experiment

• An object of controlled temperature T contains a cavity, joined to

the outside by a small hole.
•  If the hole is small, the radiation in the cavity comes to
equilibrium with the walls.
•  The hole allows a small fraction of the radiation to pass to a
spectrometer -- the radiation coming out has the same spectrum
as what is inside
 Black body lab experiment

•  Plot of Planck's radiation law for two temperatures. Note that the
peak of the curve moves to the left as the temperature increases:
hotter objects output a larger fraction of their EMR at shorter
wavelengths.

•  Note also the strong dependence on temperature of the total

emission. The radiancy is the power emitted per unit area per
increment of wavelength and so has units of W m-3.
 Black body lab experiment

•  The spectral radiance from the hole is independent of the

material used and only depends on the temperature
Describing angular distributions of radiation
Consider a plane surface illuminated by EMR from a variety of
directions

Two angles are needed to specify a particular direction of

incident radiation:

θ - angle between incident ray

and normal to surface

φ - azimuthal angle, measured

around normal in place of
surface
Describing angular distributions of radiation
Consider element dA of the
surface, and radiation incident
dΩ over range of angles θ to θ+dθ
and φ to φ + dφ

Solid angle dΩ = sinθ dθ dφ

Power incident on the element dA from this range of

directions is proportional to dA & dΩ, and a term L which
gives the strength of radiation

dP = L cosθ dΑ dΩ

L is radiance - SI unit is W m-2 sr -1

 Spectral radiance
Spectral radiance Lλ is defined as the radiance ΔL contained in a small range of
wavelengths Δλ and given by:

ΔL = Lλ Δλ

Lλ is the differential of L wrt λ

Lλ = | δL/δλ|

Spectral radiance - SI unit is W m-2 sr-1 m-1

= W m-3 sr -1
 Radiance
Spectral radiance (Lλ) is the radiant
flux per unit solid angle leaving an
extended source in a given direction
per unit projected source area in that
direction

Radiant flux in certain wavelengths

(Lλ) leaving the projected source
area (A) within a certain direction (θ)
and solid angle (Ω):
Jensen
2005

units W m-3 sr -1
 Planck s law
Describes the amplitude of radiation emitted (i.e., spectral radiance) from
a black body. It is generally provided in one of two forms:

1) Lλ(λ) is the radiance per unit wavelength as a function of wavelength λ

2) Lν(ν) is the radiance per unit frequency as a function of frequency ν.

1)
 Planck s law
To relate the two forms and establish L ν(ν), we take the derivative of L
with respect to ν using the chain rule:

Since λ = c/ν, so that

which gives:
 Stefan-Boltzmann Law
The total emitted radiation (Mλ) from a black body is proportional to the
fourth power of its absolute temperature.

where σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, 5.6697 x 10-8 W m-2 ºK -4.

Ú  the amount of energy emitted by an object such as the Sun or the
Earth is a function of its temperature.
Ú This can be derived by integrating the spectral radiance over the
entire spectrum

or M=πL=σT4
 Wien s displacement law
In addition to computing the total amount of energy exiting a theoretical
blackbody such as the Sun, we can determine its dominant wavelength
(λmax) based on Wien's displacement law:

where k is Wien's displacement constant

= 2.898 x 10-3 K m, and T is the absolute
temperature in K.

i.e. there is an inverse relationship between the wavelength of the peak

of the emission of a black body and its temperature.

Therefore, as the Sun approximates a 6000 K blackbody, its dominant

wavelength (λmax ) is 0.48 µm.
 Rayleigh-Jeans approximation
Convenient and accurate description for spectral radiance for
wavelengths much greater than the wavelength of the peak in
the black body radiation formula i.e. λ >> λmax

Approximation is better than 1% when hc/λkT << 1

or λT > 0.77 m K.

For example, for a body at 300˚K, the approximation is valid

when λ > 2.57 mm; in other words this approximation is good
when viewing thermal emissions from the Earth over the
microwave band.
 EM Energy from the Sun

«  Thermonuclear fusion on the surface of the Sun (temp 5770 – 6000 K) yields a
continuous spectrum of EM energy ranging from short, high frequency gamma &
cosmic waves to long, low frequency radio waves; majority of the energy is relatively
short wavelength
«  Travels through space at the speed of light & takes 8 minutes reach Earth (150
million km)
«  Some energy is intercepted by the Earth, where it interacts with the atmosphere and
surface materials; some is reflected directly back out to space; and some is absorbed
and then re-emitted it at a longer wavelength
«  Earth approximates a 300 K (27˚C) blackbody, dominant wavelength is ~ 9.7 mm
EM Energy from the Sun
 EM Energy from the Sun

«  Max radiation emission (41%) is in the visible (0.4 – 0.7 µm)
«  59% of the energy is in wavelengths shorter than blue light (<0.4 µm) and longer
than red light (>0.7 µm).
«  Large component of high energy UV
«  Remote sensing detectors can be made sensitive to energy in the non-visible
regions of the spectrum.
EM Energy from the Sun
EM Energy from the Sun
 Blackbody Radiation
Curves
Blackbody radiation curves for several objects
including Sun & Earth (approximate 6,000 K and
300 K blackbodies).

As the temperature increases, dominant

wavelength (λmax ) shifts toward shorter
wavelengths.

Area under each curve may be summed

to compute the total radiant energy (Ml)
exiting each object.
 Real materials
Real materials are not black bodies, so we introduce a property,
emissivity ε:

•  describes the actual absorption and emission properties of real objects,

or gray bodies.
•  is wavelength dependent ε(λ)
•  is the ratio of the energy radiated (emitted) by the material to the energy
radiated by a black body at the same temperature
•  is a measure of a material's ability to absorb and radiate energy
•  has a value from 0 to 1
Lλ = ε(λ) Lλ,p
Black-body radiance
Graybody: an object that reflects a fraction of the incident radiation

Reflectivity is 1- ε(λ)
Real materials
Real materials
 Temperature of lava flow
The temperature of a Pāhoehoe lava flow can be estimated just by
observing its colour. The result agrees well with the measured
temperatures of lava flows at about 1000 to 1200°C.
 Thermal radiation

Thermal cameras and imaging systems respond to infra-red

radiation and, suitably calibrated for emissivity, can produce
images of the surface temperatures of bodies.

In this picture, false colour is used in the display.

 Thermal remote sensing
Strengths
ü  Good resolution and accuracy.
ü  Long heritage (~ 20 years)
Weaknesses
v  Obscured by clouds.
v  Atmospheric corrections required.
 Thermal satellite sensors
ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and
Reflection Radiometer) on Terra (launched 1999)

The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides critical
information for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal
change.

Used for: monitoring glaciers and ice sheets; monitoring volcanoes; identifying crop
stress; determining cloud morphology and physical properties; wetlands evaluation;
thermal pollution monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface temperature mapping
of soils and geology; measuring surface heat balance.
 Some Applications of Thermal Remote Sensing

ASTER thermal IR image taken at night, showing (in light tones

signifying warmer temperatures) the Red Sea and a small land
area (dark; cooler) in Eritrea in eastern Africa.
 Thermal satellite sensors
Along-Track Scanning Radiometer ATSR

ATSR on ERS-1 (1991-19

ATSR-2 on ERS-2
AATSR on Envisat

ATSR consists of two instruments, an

Infra-Red Radiometer (IRR) and a
Microwave Sounder (MWS). On board
ERS-1 the IRR is a four-channel infra-red
radiometer used for measuring sea-
surface temperatures (SST) and cloud-
top temperatures, whereas on board
ERS-2 the IRR is equipped with
additional visible channels for vegetation
monitoring. The MWS is a two channel ATSR nighttime false color
passive radiometer. image of Typhoon Saomai
over the East China Sea.
 Thermal satellite sensors
Bands
Advanced are carefully
Very High Resolutionchosen!
Radiometer (AVHRR)
AVHRR
AVHRR is a broad-band,
3.7µm window sits4 or
in 5
the small overlap region between reflected
channel (depending
solar radiation on model)
& emitted radiation from the earth and clouds.
scanner, sensing
At night there in solar
is no the visible,
radiation component & the radiation in this channel
near-infrared,
comes from the and thermal infrared
earth.
portions of EMS.
By day there is a mixture of radiation of solar & terrestrial origin, but the
solar radiation
Carried on the dominates.
NOAA's Polar
At night, Environmental
Orbiting enhancing the Satellites
resolution at the warm end of the grey scale can
provide
(POES),better discrimination
beginning of the low cloud cover than can be obtained
with TIROS-N
from other IR images.
in 1978.
Resolution: 1.1 km at nadir
 Thermal satellite sensors
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)
AVHRR is a broad-band, 4 or 5
channel (depending on model)
scanner, sensing in the visible,
near-infrared, and thermal infrared
portions of EMS.
Carried on the NOAA's Polar
Orbiting Environmental Satellites
(POES), beginning with TIROS-N
in 1978.
 Sea surface temperature
•  Sea surface temperature (SST) is an important geophysical parameter,
providing the boundary condition used in the estimation of heat flux at
the air-sea interface.
•  On the global scale this is important for climate modeling, study of the
earth's heat balance, and insight into atmospheric and oceanic
circulation patterns and anomalies (such as El Niño).
•  On a local scale, SST can be used operationally to assess eddies, fronts
and upwellings for marine navigation and to track biological productivity.

Calibration is very important for trends in SST!

Sea surface temperature

[Link]
Sea surface temperature
 Thermal radiation from Earth

Emitted thermal radiation from both the atmosphere and land

surfaces (with color assignments of red/yellow to warm and
green/blue to cooler). From MODIS on Terra.
 Thermal satellite sensors

ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and

Reflection Radiometer) on Terra (launched 1999)
The broad spectral coverage and high spectral
resolution of ASTER provides critical information
for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic
conditions and temporal change.

Applications: monitoring glaciers; monitoring

volcanoes; identifying crop stress; determining
cloud morphology and physical properties;
wetlands evaluation; thermal pollution
monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface
temperature mapping of soils and geology;
measuring surface heat balance.

Augustine Volcano, Cook Inlet, Alaska (22:50 AST January 31, 2006).
This ASTER thermal image was acquired at night during an eruptive phase.
 Monitor the ice sheets during polar winter
•  During polar darkness, cannot get visible images from Antarctica
•  Thermal helps to lengthen time series (although lower resolution) λ/d!

MODIS Terra visible 13 March 2009 MODIS Aqua thermal 6 April 2009
 Monitor the ice sheets during polar winter
•  During polar darkness, cannot get visible images from Antarctica
•  Thermal helps to lengthen time series (although lower resolution) λ/d!
 Sea-ice mapping
•  Monitor extent of sea-ice in the Arctic and Antarctic

•  Thermal remote sensing can distinguish between the sea-ice and

leads (open water between the sea-ice) -- useful for navigation and for
science
 Thermal satellite sensors
NASA s Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) has several bands in the
thermal IR
Hawaii March 19, 2000
Advanced Spaceborne
Thermal Emission and
Reflection Radiometer
(ASTER)
 Fire monitoring

Images of 1988 Yellowstone fires. Visible image is what you'd see flying over a forest fire
- smoke! Right image combines several infrared bands (reflective and thermal infrared)
to cut through the smoke. Bright yellow areas are actively burning fire lines.
 Fire monitoring
Major fires are commonly imaged by satellites, and the extent of the burn damage is
easily assessed afterwards by the dark patterns in the visible bands.

False color AVHRR composite (made by assigning channel 1 image to red, channel 2
to green, and channel 3 to blue). In this version, the smoke shows as yellow and the fire,
at the head of the smoke column, appears as bright blue.
 Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System
(CERES)

CERES is a scanning
broadband radiometer

Measures the reflected

sunlight and emitted thermal
energy from the surface of
the Earth and the
atmosphere.

The radiometer is made up of three sensors, each with its own

telescope mounted on a gimbaled platform that scans across the
Earth in a 6.6-second cycle.
 Thermal satellite sensors
Landsat Multi-spectral scanner (Landsat-1 to 5)

MSS were the first global monitoring systems capable of producing

multispectral data in digital format.

Landsat MSS collects reflected and/or radiated energy from the Earth in
four bands or channels of the electromagnetic spectrum: two in the visible
spectrum and two in the near-infrared spectrum
 Thermal satellite sensors
Landsat Thematic Mapper (Landsat-4 onwards)
Advanced, multispectral scanning, with improvements over MSS:
•  higher spatial and radiometric resolution
•  finer spectral bands
•  seven vs four spectral bands acquired simultaneously.
Band 6 senses thermal (heat) infrared radiation. Landsat can only acquire
night scenes in Band 6.

TM replaced MSS completely after Landsat-5

 Temperature of Saturn's moon Phoebe

taken by the composite infrared spectrometer onboard Cassini