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Radiance is the variable directly measured by remote sensing instruments. Basically, you can think of radiance as how much light the instrument "sees" from the object being observed. When looking through an atmosphere, some light scattered by the atmosphere will be seen by the instrument and included in the observed radiance of the target. An atmosphere will also absorb light, which will decrease the observed radiance. Radiance has units of watt/steradian/square meter. Reflectance is the ratio of the amount of light leaving a target to the amount of light striking the target. It has no units. If all of the light leaving the target is intercepted for the measurement of reflectance, the result is called "hemispherical reflectance." Reflectance (or more specifically hemispherical reflectance) is a property of the material being observed. Radiance, on the other hand, depends on the illumination (both its intensity and direction), the orientation and position of the target and the path of the light through the atmosphere. With effort, many of the atmospheric effects and the solar illumination can be compensated for in digital remote sensing data. This yields something which is called "apparent reflectance," and it differs from true reflectance in that shadows and directional effects on reflectance have not been dealt with. Many people refer to this (rather inaccurately) as "reflectance." For most of the vegetation indices in this FAQ, radiance, reflectance, and apparent reflectance can be used interchangeably. However, since reflectance is a property of the target material itself, you will get the most reliable (and repeatable) vegetation index values using reflectance. Apparent reflectance is adequate in many cases. See the related link.

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Related Questions

What is the difference between reflection and reflectance?

as such there is no soecific difference..


What is the difference between radiance and luminance?

Radiance is the amount of light energy emitted or reflected from a surface per unit solid angle, regardless of where it is being viewed from. Luminance, on the other hand, is the amount of light energy emitted or reflected from a surface per unit area as seen from a given viewing angle. In simpler terms, radiance is the total light output, while luminance is how bright it appears to an observer.


What is the difference between reflectance and reflectivity, and how do they relate to each other in the context of light and surface interactions?

Reflectance refers to the amount of light that is reflected off a surface, while reflectivity is a measure of how efficiently a surface reflects light. Reflectance is a property of the surface, while reflectivity is a physical property of the material. In the context of light and surface interactions, reflectance and reflectivity are related in that they both describe how much light is reflected off a surface, but reflectivity specifically quantifies the efficiency of that reflection.


What are different type of the spectral reflectance the spectral reflectance curves of major ground features?

Some major ground features and their typical spectral reflectance curves include vegetation, which shows high reflectance in the visible spectrum and low reflectance in the near-infrared spectrum; water, which has low reflectance across all wavelengths; soil, which typically has higher reflectance in the visible spectrum and lower reflectance in the near-infrared spectrum; and urban areas, which have varying spectral reflectance depending on surface materials like asphalt, concrete, and buildings.


What are reflectance curves?

Reflectance curves show the reflectivity as a function of wavelengt.


What is difference between emissivity and reflectance?

Emissivity refers to the efficiency with which an object emits thermal radiation, ranging from 0 to 1. Reflectance, on the other hand, pertains to the ability of a surface to reflect light or radiation, also ranging from 0 to 1. In essence, emissivity relates to the emission of radiation from an object, while reflectance involves the reflection of incident light.


How do you use the word radiance in a sentence?

Upon arrival, her radiance lit the room; and then... she smiled at me.


How do you use radiance in a sentence?

you just have to include radiance in a sentence.


What is the adjective form of radiance?

The adjective form of radiance is radiant.


When was Day of Radiance created?

Day of Radiance was created in 1980.


When was Pool of Radiance created?

Pool of Radiance was created in 1988.


When did Pool of Radiance happen?

Pool of Radiance happened in 1988.