Chapter 2 — Question 2

How important are laboratory spectra in understanding the remote sensing images?

Answer

Laboratory spectral curves help us in classifying digital remotely sensed images,
by fitting sensed and known (laboratory) curves. When these curves do not fit
in an obvious manner we either

1. classified an object as being part of the wrong class, or

2. observe a change in the ‘normal’ spectral reflection of a certain object.

This might be explained by a change in physical properties such as tempe-

rature, chemical composition, roughness, shape, water content etc. However,
spectral curves do deviate normally from one another and laboratory spectral
curves represent ideal curves, which can be expected. Bear in mind that those
observations are not disturbed by the atmosphere.

go back

previous

next

zoom

print