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Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing pp 43–67Cite as

Thermal Infrared Spectroscopy in the Laboratory and Field in Support of Land Surface Remote Sensing

Part of the Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing book series (RDIP,volume 17)

Abstract

Thermal infrared (TIR) spectra of Earth surface materials are used in a wide variety of applications. These applications can fall into either of two groups: (a) where the TIR emissivity spectra themselves are the primary interest, and are used to determine the chemical/physical parameters of minerals and rocks, soil, vegetation and man-made materials, or (b) where the primary interest is in the temperature of the objects under study, and where emissivity spectra are required inorder to best determine kinetic from radiant temperature. Unlike visible-near infrared (VNIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) instruments, TIR spectroscopy instrumentation often requires customization in order to acquire reliable and reproducible data, making thermal spectroscopy a potentially complex process. Within this chapter we intend to provide a simple starting point for the new user of thermal infrared spectroscopy, and a synoptic overview of the technique for the more experienced practitioner. We discuss the theoretical background, give examples of instrument setups and provide typical measurement scenarios for a number of land applications.

Keywords

  • Spectral Radiance
  • Kinetic Temperature
  • Emissive System
  • Spectral Contrast
  • Earth Observation Data

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Steve Ruff and Chris MacLellan, as well as the companies Telops and Agilent Technologies for providing illustrations of their spectrometer setups.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

    Christoph A. Hecker

  2. Department of Geography, King’s College London (KCL), Strand, London, UK

    Thomas E. L. Smith & Martin J. Wooster

  3. University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Beatriz Ribeiro da Luz

Authors
  1. Christoph A. Hecker
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  2. Thomas E. L. Smith
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  3. Beatriz Ribeiro da Luz
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  4. Martin J. Wooster
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Correspondence to Christoph A. Hecker .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Earth Observation Center, EOC, German Aerospace Center, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, 82234, Germany

    Claudia Kuenzer

  2. , Earth Observation Center, EOC, German Aerospace Center, DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen, Wessling, 82234, Germany

    Stefan Dech

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Hecker, C.A., Smith, T.E.L., da Luz, B.R., Wooster, M.J. (2013). Thermal Infrared Spectroscopy in the Laboratory and Field in Support of Land Surface Remote Sensing. In: Kuenzer, C., Dech, S. (eds) Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing. Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing, vol 17. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6639-6_3

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