Chapter 2 — Exam Question 5

What specific energy interactions take place when EM energy from the Sun hits the

Earth’s surface?

Answer

Three interactions are considered when EM energy hits the earth’s surface. Some
of the energy is absorbed, some of the energy is transmitted to other objects and
some of the energy is reflected back to the atmosphere. Reflected energy is further
categorised to Specular reflection (where it consists of a main vector) and Diffuse
reflection (where it is equally reflected to all directions.

Specular reflection occurs from smooth surfaces like calm waters, while dif-

fuse reflection occurs from rough surfaces like forest areas. Surface roughness,
from a remote sensing perspective, is a function of wavelength, thus long wa-
velengths will be less sensitive to surface roughness compared to short wave-
lengths.

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