Introduction and Basic Concepts

(ii) EMR Spectrum

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

 Objectives
2

 What is meant by

 Electromagnetic energy

 Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) spectrum

 Source of radiation/energy in remote sensing

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

 Electromagnetic Energy
3

 Electromagnetic energy: All energy moving in a harmonic sinusoidal wave pattern with a

velocity equal to that of light

– Harmonic pattern means waves occurring at frequent intervals of time.

 Contains both electric and magnetic components which oscillate

– Perpendicular to each other and

– Perpendicular to the direction of energy propagation

 It can be detected only through its interaction with matter.

– Example: Light, heat etc.

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

Electromagnetic Energy…
4
Characteristics of electromagnetic (EM) energy – Wave theroy
• Velocity (c)
– EM waves travel at the speed of light (3×10 8 m/s. )

• Wavelength (λ)
– Distance from any point of one wave to the same position on the next wave
– The wavelengths commonly used in remote sensing are very small
– It is normally expressed in micrometers (1 μm =1×10 -6 m)
– In remote sensing EM waves are categorized in terms of their wavelength location
in the EMR spectrum

• Frequency (f)
– Number of waves passing a fixed point per unit time. It is expressed in Hertz (Hz).

c=λf

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

Electromagnetic Energy…
5

Characteristics of electromagnetic (EM) energy – Particle theory

• Electromagnetic radiation is composed of discrete units

• These discrete units are called Photons or Quanta

• Photons are the basic units of EM energy

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

 Electromagnetic Spectrum
6

Figure 06.01Figure 06.01

Copyright McGraw-Hill 2009

 Wave Characteristics
7

Wavelength: (lambda) distance between

identical points on successive waves…peaks or
troughs
Frequency:(nu) number of waves that pass a
particular point in one second
Amplitude: the vertical distance from the
midline of waves to the top of the peak or the
bottom of the trough

Copyright McGraw-Hill 2009

 8

Remote Sensing: M7L1 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

Copyright McGraw-Hill 2009 9
 Wave Calculation
10

The wavelength of a laser pointer is reported to

be 663 nm. What is the frequency of this light?
c


9
10 m 7
  663 nm   6.63  10 m
nm
3.00 108 m/s 14 1
 7
 4.52  10 s
6.63 10 m
Copyright McGraw-Hill 2009
 Your Turn!
11

Calculate the wavelength of light, in nm, of light with a frequency of 3.52

x 1014 s-1.

Copyright McGraw-Hill 2009

 12

Calculate the wavelength of light, in nm, of light with a

frequency of 3.52 x 1014 s-1.
c


3.00  10 8 m/s 7
 14 1
 8.52  10 m
3.52  10 s

9
7 10 nm
  8.52  10 m   852 nm
m
Copyright McGraw-Hill 2009
 EMR Spectrum
13

 EMR Spectrum: Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) spectrum

 Distribution of the continuum of radiant energy plotted as a function of wavelength (or

frequency)
 Divided into regions or intervals

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

 EMR Spectrum…
14
 Ranges from gamma rays (very short) to radio waves (long wavelengths)

 Gamma rays, X-rays and most of the UV rays

‒ Mostly absorbed by the earth’s atmosphere and hence not used in remote sensing

 Most of the remote sensing systems operate in visible, infrared (IR) and microwave

regions
 Some systems use the long wave portion of the UV spectrum

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

EMR Spectrum…
15

Region Wavelength (μm) Remarks

Gamma rays < 3×10-5 Not available for remote sensing. Incoming radiation is
absorbed by the atmosphere
X-ray 3×10-5 - 3×10-3

Ultraviolet (UV) 0.03 - 0.4 Wavelengths < 0.3 are absorbed by the ozone layer.
rays Wavelengths between 0.3- 0.4 μm are transmitted and
termed as “Photographic UV band”.
Visible 0.4 - 0.7 Detectable with film and photodetectors.
Infrared (IR) 0.7 - 100 Specific atmospheric windows allows maximum
transmission. Photographic IR band (0.7-0.9 μm) is
detectable with film. Principal atmospheric windows exist
in the thermal IR region (3 - 5 μm and 8 - 14 μm)
Microwave 103 - 106 Can penetrate rain, fog and clouds. Both active and
passive remote sensing is possible. Radar uses
wavelength in this range.
Radio > 106 Have the longest wavelength. Used for remote sensing
by some radars.

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

 EMR Spectrum…
16
 Visible region  Infrared (IR) region
‒ Small region in the range 0.4 - 0.7 μm
‒ Spanning between 0.7 and 100 μm
‒ Blue : 0.4 – 0.5 μm
‒ Green: 0.5-0.6 μm ‒ 4 subintervals of interest for remote sensing
‒ Red: 0.6-0.7 μm. (1) Reflected IR (0.7 - 3.0 μm)

‒ Ultraviolet (UV) region adjoins the blue end (2) Photographic IR (0.7 - 0.9 μm)

‒ Infrared (IR) region adjoins the red end (3) Thermal IR at 3 - 5 μm

(4) Thermal IR at 8 - 14 μm

 Microwave region
‒ Longer wavelength intervals
‒ Ranges from 0.1 to 100 cm
‒ Includes all the intervals used by radar
systems.

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

 Fundamental Radiation Laws:

The following laws are obeyed in this phenomenon:

•Kirchhoff’s law (Relates the radiated energy to absorbed
energy)

•Stefan-Boltzmann Law (Amount of radiant energy from a black

body)
•Plank’s Law (Emissive power of a black body)
•Wien’s Law (Maximum radiant intensity)
Kirchhoff’s law:

 Blackbody: A hypothetical body that completely absorbs

all radiant energy falling upon it, reaches some
equilibrium temperature, and then reemits that energy as
quickly as it absorbs it.
 Kirchoff’s law states that any body in thermal equilibrium
emits as much heat radiation as it receives at any given
wavelength and temperature.
Kirchhoff’s law:

Since no real body is perfect

emitter, its emittance is less
than that of a black body (Mb).
Thus the emissivity of a
real (gray, Mg) body is defined
by
εg= Mg/Mb
Planck’s Radiation Law:

 Planck explained the spectral-energy distribution of

radiation emitted by a blackbody.
 For a blackbody at temperatures up to several hundred
degrees, the majority of the radiation is in the infrared
radiation region.
Solar Radiation…
21

 From particle theory: Energy of a quantum (Q) is proportional to the frequency

h = Plank’s constant (6.626 x 10-34 J Sec)

Q=hf f = Frequency

 From wave theory of electromagnetic radiation

c = Velocity (3 x 108 m/Sec)
c=λf λ = Wavelength (μm)

 Therefore Energy of a quantum (Q) is Q=hc/λ

 The energy per unit quantum is inversely proportional to the wavelength

‒ Shorter wavelengths are associated with higher energy compared to the longer wavelengths
‒ Lower energy for microwave radiations compared to the IR regions
‒ For remote sensing with long wavelength radiations, the coverage area should be large enough
to obtain a detectable signal

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

 Energy Sources and Radiation Principle
-Radiation from Earth
22
 Earth and the terrestrial objects also emit electromagnetic radiation
‒ All matter at temperature above absolute zero (0 oK or -273oC) emit electromagnetic radiations
continuously

 Stefan-Boltzmann law
‒ The amount of radiation from such objects is a function of the temperature of the object
‒ Applicable for objects that behave as a blackbody

M = Total radiant exitance from the source (Watts / m2)

M = σ T4 σ = The Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.6697 x 10 -8 Watts m-2 k-4)
T = Absolute temperature of the emitting material in Kelvin.

• Stefan Boltzman Law gives the energy of a

blackbody.
• The area under the Planck’s curve represents the
total energy emitted by an object at a given
temperature.
• “The amount of energy emitted from an object is
primarily a function of its temperature”.

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

 Wein’s Displacement Law:

 Wein calculated relationship b/w true temperature of

blackcody (T) in degree kelvins and its peak spectral
extiance or dominant wavelength (λmax).

λmax = A/T and A = 2898 μm k

Black Body Radiation
24

 Peak of the radiant exitance varies with wavelength

 With increase in temperature, the peak shifts towards left

 Wien’s displacement law

 Dominant wavelength at which a black body radiates λm is
inversely proportional to the absolute temperature of the black
body (in K)

λm = A / T

A = 2898 μm K, a constant

 Solar radiation
Spectral energy distribution of blackbody
- Sun’s temperature is around 6000 K at various temperatures

- In the spectral curve at 6000K visible part of the energy (0.4-

0.7 μm) dominates

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

Remote Sensing of Electromagnetic Radiation
25
 Selective wavelength bands are used in remote sensing

 Electromagnetic energy interacts with the atmospheric gases and particles

- Scattering and Absorption

- Atmosphere absorbs / backscatters a fraction of the energy and transmits the remainder

 Atmospheric windows : Wavelength regions through which most of the energy is

transmitted through atmosphere

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

Remote Sensing of Electromagnetic Radiation…
26

Atmosphere is mostly opaque for the areas marked in Blue colour

Atmospheric windows

Atmospheric windows in electromagnetic radiation (EMR) spectrum (Source: Short, 1999)

 Most remote sensing instruments operate in one or more of these windows

Remote Sensing: M1L2 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc

 Thank You

Remote Sensing: M1L2 27 D. Nagesh Kumar, IISc