Field Reflectance Measurements at Night of Beach and Desert Sands within a Particulate BRDF Model

The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) of soils is frequently assumed to be Lambertian in remote sensing applications, even though many soils are observed to have a distinct backscatter. This is largely due to the difficulty of obtaining accurate in-situ BRDF of these materials o...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: John E. Wise, John C. Mars
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-10-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/19/5020
_version_ 1797477032520581120
author John E. Wise
John C. Mars
author_facet John E. Wise
John C. Mars
author_sort John E. Wise
collection DOAJ
description The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) of soils is frequently assumed to be Lambertian in remote sensing applications, even though many soils are observed to have a distinct backscatter. This is largely due to the difficulty of obtaining accurate in-situ BRDF of these materials over the entire hemisphere. The objective of the work presented here is to describe a new technique that combines the measurement of field BRDF data on desert and beach sands measured at night with a model that reproduces the backscatter except in a small region around zero phase angle. It is found that this combination produces parameterized BRDF of sufficient accuracy to allow its inclusion in a remote sensing materials database. The measurement technique was developed in the laboratory and transitioned to perform in-plane BRDF field measurements of sands at night. Field measurements were obtained using a portable light source and field spectrometer over the range of 0.4–2.4 micrometers. The spectrometer sensor optics and light source were mounted on a portable, manually operated goniometer allowing in-plane measurements to within 3 degrees of backscatter. Unlike daytime measurements, corrections for background were unnecessary, and BRDF was obtained by referencing to a Spectralon calibration standard. Analysis of the spectrometer field data used a variant of the Shadow Hiding Opposition Effect (SHOE) wherein a series expansion of Legendre Polynomials was substituted for the angularly dependent backscatter function. It is shown that when the out-of-plane scattering and the backscatter peak are small, this model provides an adequate description of the BRDF. The combination of the nocturnal in-situ measurements with an analysis using a model that can describe the backscatter produces parameterized BRDF for these sands of sufficient accuracy to allow inclusion in the NEFDS materials database. Measurement and analysis techniques are assessed, sample results for both the laboratory and field data are shown, and the extension to future soils measurements are discussed.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T21:13:05Z
format Article
id doaj.art-84a7470e427743aca4594a818973021c
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2072-4292
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T21:13:05Z
publishDate 2022-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Remote Sensing
spelling doaj.art-84a7470e427743aca4594a818973021c2023-11-23T21:42:31ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-10-011419502010.3390/rs14195020Field Reflectance Measurements at Night of Beach and Desert Sands within a Particulate BRDF ModelJohn E. Wise0John C. Mars1Cortana Corporation, Falls Church, VA 22046, USAUnited States Geological Survey, Reston, VA 20192, USAThe Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) of soils is frequently assumed to be Lambertian in remote sensing applications, even though many soils are observed to have a distinct backscatter. This is largely due to the difficulty of obtaining accurate in-situ BRDF of these materials over the entire hemisphere. The objective of the work presented here is to describe a new technique that combines the measurement of field BRDF data on desert and beach sands measured at night with a model that reproduces the backscatter except in a small region around zero phase angle. It is found that this combination produces parameterized BRDF of sufficient accuracy to allow its inclusion in a remote sensing materials database. The measurement technique was developed in the laboratory and transitioned to perform in-plane BRDF field measurements of sands at night. Field measurements were obtained using a portable light source and field spectrometer over the range of 0.4–2.4 micrometers. The spectrometer sensor optics and light source were mounted on a portable, manually operated goniometer allowing in-plane measurements to within 3 degrees of backscatter. Unlike daytime measurements, corrections for background were unnecessary, and BRDF was obtained by referencing to a Spectralon calibration standard. Analysis of the spectrometer field data used a variant of the Shadow Hiding Opposition Effect (SHOE) wherein a series expansion of Legendre Polynomials was substituted for the angularly dependent backscatter function. It is shown that when the out-of-plane scattering and the backscatter peak are small, this model provides an adequate description of the BRDF. The combination of the nocturnal in-situ measurements with an analysis using a model that can describe the backscatter produces parameterized BRDF for these sands of sufficient accuracy to allow inclusion in the NEFDS materials database. Measurement and analysis techniques are assessed, sample results for both the laboratory and field data are shown, and the extension to future soils measurements are discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/19/5020BRDFDHRsandSHOENEFDSsurface phase function
spellingShingle John E. Wise
John C. Mars
Field Reflectance Measurements at Night of Beach and Desert Sands within a Particulate BRDF Model
Remote Sensing
BRDF
DHR
sand
SHOE
NEFDS
surface phase function
title Field Reflectance Measurements at Night of Beach and Desert Sands within a Particulate BRDF Model
title_full Field Reflectance Measurements at Night of Beach and Desert Sands within a Particulate BRDF Model
title_fullStr Field Reflectance Measurements at Night of Beach and Desert Sands within a Particulate BRDF Model
title_full_unstemmed Field Reflectance Measurements at Night of Beach and Desert Sands within a Particulate BRDF Model
title_short Field Reflectance Measurements at Night of Beach and Desert Sands within a Particulate BRDF Model
title_sort field reflectance measurements at night of beach and desert sands within a particulate brdf model
topic BRDF
DHR
sand
SHOE
NEFDS
surface phase function
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/19/5020
work_keys_str_mv AT johnewise fieldreflectancemeasurementsatnightofbeachanddesertsandswithinaparticulatebrdfmodel
AT johncmars fieldreflectancemeasurementsatnightofbeachanddesertsandswithinaparticulatebrdfmodel