Study Questions for Second Midterm
ERS 186 – Dr. Vern Vanderbilt
1. Explain spectral libraries, emissivity, photic depth, Rayleigh and Mei scattering, depression angle, cloud masks,
soil line, LAI and Goniometer.
2. Describe types of distortions in RADAR images.
3. What is the range of EMR in which RADAR, LIDAR and Hyperspectral sensors operate?
4. What is a corner reflector?
5. Draw soil spectra of a typical US soil.
6. What is the dielectric constant? How is it correlated with RADAR wave scattering?
7. What sensor and what wavelength range is suited to detect characteristics several feel under the surface?
8. Illustrate graphically, the forward scattering and back scattering directions.
9. Name which and explain how the characteristics of each of these items can be detected using remote sensing:
soil, vegetation, clouds, water and atmospheric gases.
10. What is an absorption feature? Explain two broad categories of absorption features. What wavelength range is
characteristic of each category? Which sensor type would be best suited to quantify various parameters of
absorption features (like depth, width, skew, etc).
11. Why is the classification of rocks and minerals using absorption band features more accurate than it is for
vegetation?
12. Draw and label the “Tassled Cap” transform.
13. What can RADAR imagery tell you about the moisture in the soil if you have only one image; if you have two
images, one taken in the day and one at night?
14. LIDAR is used estimate which parameters of vegetation and why? What is the difference between a LIDAR pulse
and a RADAR pulse other than the wavelength being used?
15. Define linear and intimate mixtures and give an example scenario for each. Explain how the mixture type affects
the spectra of a mixed pixel (figures can be helpful).
16. Explain how snow can be differentiated from clouds? Which EMR range would be useful for this purpose?
17. Show using figures, the general form of the radiance equations for soil and a shallow lake.
18. What characteristics of the surface can interfere with mapping of minerals on the earth’s surface?
19. Two things decide whether the interaction between a particle and an EMR wave (i.e. scattering) follows Rayleigh
or Mei patterns. Name them and explain why?
20. Define and illustrate using a figure, BRDF and hot spots?
21. Draw the vegetation spectra showing absorption, transmission and reflection components.
22. Describe the two categories of vegetation indices (VI’s). Know the formulas of all the VI’s covered in class. They
are very very important.
