Effect of spatial resolution on thermal IR sensing of plant canopies

James Alan Smith; Jerrell R. Ballard Jr.; Lee K. Balick; James R. Getter

doi:10.1117/12.332747

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11 December 1998 Effect of spatial resolution on thermal IR sensing of plant canopies

James Alan Smith, Jerrell R. Ballard Jr., Lee K. Balick, James R. Getter

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Proceedings Volume 3499, Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.332747
Event: Remote Sensing, 1998, Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

Satellite observations of agricultural and other plant canopies in the thermal IR regime have generally been at spatial scales of tens to hundreds of meters. Use of the thermal IR at higher resolutions is confounded by the mixture problem and other associated scaling issues. Advances in sensor technology will extend our capabilities for IR measurements to shorter wavelengths and yield improved spatial resolutions. However, experience with aircraft remote sensing observations has indicated that care must be exercised in understanding the interaction effects of viewing geometry at these higher resolutions. The utilization and scaling of observables with multi-resolution remote sensing data sets remain a difficult problem. At high spatial resolution the three-dimensional character of scene components contained within a pixel must be considered. In this paper, we explore the variability in brightness temperature and the co-variation of NDVI with brightness temperature as a function of viewing geometry and changing spatial resolution. Using three- dimensional models for both canopy reflectance and thermal IR exitance, we employ a theoretical analysis for an agricultural scene where previous comparisons and measurements were available.

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James Alan Smith, Jerrell R. Ballard Jr., Lee K. Balick, and James R. Getter "Effect of spatial resolution on thermal IR sensing of plant canopies", Proc. SPIE 3499, Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology, (11 December 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.332747

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