Thermal Remote Sensing

Note #9

Thermal Atmospheric Windows

The signal in the thermal infrared portion of the spectrum is caused by emission of
electromagnetic radiation emitted from the earth. Thermal infrared region runs from 3-14
m;
Large portions of this spectral region are affected by atmospheric absorption (blinds);
Typically remote sensing utilizes the 3-5m wavelengths and 8-14m wavelengths;
Ozone strongly absorbs in 9.2-10.2m range, so this range is cannot be utilized by
spacecraft remote sensing systems, but can be used by airborne systems.
Dominant wavelength of the emitted energy from Earths surface 9.7 m.
3-5m region is especially useful for monitoring hot targets such as forest fires and
geothermal activities.
Vegetation, soil rock are best monitored using the 8-14m region for suborbit data
collection. 10.5-12.5m region is used when thermal imagery is acquired from orbital
sensors above the Earths ozone layer.
Fundamentals of Thermal Remote Sensing
Wien's Displacement Law
Wavelength at which the largest portion of energy is emitted from a blackbody depends
on temperature.
A
m =
T
where m is the wavelength of maximum emittance (m);
A is a constant (2898 (m K);
T is temperature (K)
Hotter objects emit more energy at shorter wavelengths than do cooler objects
Stefan-Boltzmann Law
For a blackbody, the total energy emitted from an object over all wavelengths varies as a
function of the fourth power of surface temperature:
M = T 4
where M is total radiant exitance from the surface of a material;
is Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67x10-8 Wm-2K-4);
T is absolute temperature of the emitting material (K).

Kirchhoffs Law
The spectral emissivity of an opaque object is equal to its spectral absorptance:
( ) = ( )
The sum of absorptance, reflectance, and transmittance is the unity:
( ) + ( ) + ( ) = 1
The vast bulk of geological materials are opaque and transmittance is zero, so that
equation reduces to:
+ = 1
 For opaque objects, reflectance and absorptance are interchangeable. Because terrain
does not lose any incident energy leaving the object must be accounted for by the
relationship between reflectance and emissivity:
+ = 1
Generally speaking, good absorbers are good emitters, and good reflectors are poor
emitters.
Blackbody
Blackbody is a hypothetical, ideal radiator that totally absorbs and re-emits all energy
incident upon it, namely, perfect absorber and emitter of radiation
Emittance is a function only of temperature.
Sun can be thought of as a blackbody with the temperature of 6000K, and the Earth as a
blackbody with the temperature of 300K.
Gray bodies
In nature, true blackbodies do not exist.
Most objects emit radiation with less than 100% efficiency. These objects are known as
gray bodies.
For a gray body, the Stefan-Boltsman Law becomes:
M = T 4
is a dimensionless factor, known as emmissivity [0,1]
Gray bodies emit radiation whose intensity and spectral composition are a function of
emissivity (1-albedo) and the kinetic surface temperature of the object under study;
Relationship between Kinetic and Radiant Temperature
Kinetic temperature
Any object having a temperature over absolute 0 K (-273) has random particle motion.
When these particles collide they emit electromagnetic radiation.
The kinetic temperature can be measured by a thermometer and it is a measure of amount
of kinetic heat of an object.
Radiant temperature
The electromagnetic radiation exiting an object is termed radiant flux. The radiant
temperature (Trad) is highly correlated to the kinetic temperature (Tkin).
Thermal IR system record radiant temperature. For a blackbody, the radiant temperature
is the same as the kinetic temperature.
Relationship
The mathematical relationship:
Trad = 1 / 4Tkin Tkin
or
4
T
= rad
Tkin
The kinetic temperature is mainly affected by solar radiation. Elevation angle of sun,
atmospheric condition, topography, geo-thermal heat will affect the kinetic temperature.
Thermal Properties of Terrain Materials
Emissivity:
Efficiency that an object radiates energy;
Compared to black body at the same temperature
M ( )
( ) =
M b ( )
Black bodies (perfect absorbers) have emissivity of 1; White bodies (perfect reflectors)
have emissivity of 0; Gray bodies have emissivity between 0 and 1.
Factors influencing emissivity
Tone of objects: darker objects are better absorbers and better emitters
Surface roughness: the rougher the surface relative to the wavelength the greater the
surface area and greater the potential for absorption and re-emission.
Moisture content: the more moisture content, the greater the ability to be a a good
emitter;
Field of view and viewing angle can affect the emissivity.
Heat capacity(c)
A measure of the ability of a material to absorb heat energy. It is quantity of heat
required to raise the temperature of one gram of material by 1C.
Thermal storage (C)
The capability of storing heat: C = c , is the density.
Thermal Conductivity (K)
A measure of the rate that a substance transfers heat through it.
It is the number of calories that will pass through 1 cm3 of a material in 1 sec when the
two opposite faces are maintained with a 1C temperature difference.
Thermal diffusivity (k)
Material ability to transfer heat from the surface to interior during heating and vice versa:
K
k=
c
where K is conductivity, c is thermal capacity, and is the density.
Thermal inertia (P)
a measure of the resistance of a material to change its temperature in response to a change
in the temperature of its surroundings:
P = cK

External Environmental Conditions

Surface winds
Surface winds cause an increase in the convective rather than radiative heat loss from
surface materials;
Window shadow will form on the downwind side of protruding features; wind shadows
are typically warmer than adjacent area because of a reduction in wind velocity.
Wind streaks are lines of alternating lighter and darker signatures that parallel the wind
directions.
Rains/dew/frost
Rain tends to force all objects to cooler and more uniform temperature
Clouds and fog
Clouds and fog will usually completely mask thermal IR emission from surface features.
Clouds and fog appears as cold materials (dark tones);
Ground areas within cloud shadows are cool compared to their immediate surroundings.
Thermal IR can penetrate dust and smoke.
Humidity
High humidity makes surface objects appear to have cooler and more uniform
temperature.
Time of Day-Diurnal Temperature Changes
The radiant temperature of a given object depends on many thermal factors, such as
emissivity, conductivity, capacity, diffusivity and inertia. Because of these factors
different materials warm and cool at different rates during the day and night. This gives
rise to a diurnal cycle of temperature changes for features at the Earth's surface.
Daytime images are usually obtained in mid-afternoon, when radiant temperatures and
the thermal contrast between many terrain components are at their maximum levels.
Topography is enhanced on daytime images because of the differential heating patterns
on slopes.
Daytime images express topography (shadow) and geological structure very well, but
obscure variations due to different thermal properties of the surface. Surface temperatures
at night are stable and topography effects are suppressed. For many applications, such as,
lithological interpretation, it is preferable to acquire thermal images at night to minimize
differential heating patterns caused by thermal shading, namely, thermal shadows from
topography, trees, or buildings.
Predawn images are often preferred because they show the residual heat energy
remaining in surface materials at the end of the night cooling period.
There are two temperature crossover periods in the diurnal cycle when land and water
temperatures approach each other at dawn and sunset. Worst time to acquire the thermal
image is shortly after dawn or nearly sunset because of the least thermal contrast due to
the crossovers.
The difference between surface temperatures at night and during the day (diurnal change)
gives a clue to thermal inertia. A large difference implies a low thermal inertia.
Ideal Conditions
The best thermal IR images are acquired under clear skies with no surface wind and low
humidity.

Thermal IR image Sources

FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared)
ATLAS (Airborne Terrestrial Applications Sensor): 6 visible, 2 TM mid IR, and 6
thermal bands ranging from 8.2-12.5m.
Landsat TM ETM+ Band6 (10.4-12.5m)
ASTER: 5 bands of day and nighttime thermal IR with a 90m spatial resolution, 60km
swath.
AVHRR Band4 and band 5
CZCS Band 6
Interpretation of Thermal Images
Basic Characteristics
Thermal imagery can be acquired during the day or night and is used for a variety of
applications such as military reconnaissance, disaster management (forest fire mapping),
and heat loss monitoring.
Thermal sensors essentially record the radiant temperatures of terrain materials, which
are correlated to the surface kinetic temperature and thermal properties of materials. The
tone of thermal image expresses surface radiant temperature, cooler areas appears darker,
and warmer areas light.
Thermal images are often poorly correlated with those from the visible and near IR range,
proving an extra dimension for discriminating rocks, water, and vegetation.
Because energy decreases as the wavelength increases, thermal sensors generally have
large IFOVs to ensure that enough energy reaches the detector in order to make a reliable
measurement. Therefore, the spatial resolution of thermal sensors is usually fairly coarse.
Water bodies vs Rocks
With natural water bodies, energy transfer is primarily by convection. This mechanism
efficiently transfers heat to depths of 100cm or more. Therefore, water bodies acts as if it
has a very high thermal inertia, having a relatively uniform temperature both day and
night. Consequently, water will be cooler than bounding land surfaces during the day
heating period and warmer than the bounding land surfaces during the nigh cooling
period.
Energy transfer in solids (rocks) is primarily by conduction, and heat energy tends to be
concentrated near their surfaces (e.g. 50-100cm), causing relatively high daytime
temperatures and relatively low nighttime temperature (large T).

Vegetation
Tree foliage normally appears cool (dark tones) in daytime images and warm (light tones)
at night. Transpiration process during the daytime lowers leaf temperature, and the high
water content of the leaves makes them look warmer during nighttime.
Grass and other low-lying vegetation are warmest during the day but rapidly approach
local air temperature after sunset.
Damp ground
Damp ground is cooler (darker) than dry ground during both daytime and nighttime.
Consolidated versus Unconsolidated Materials
In daytime images, consolidated rock surfaces appear in darker tones than unconsolidated
materials, whereas a tonal reversal occurs in nighttime images.
Pavement Materials
Materials such as concrete, asphalt, and packed dirt appear relatively warm both day and
night. They are generally are good absorbers of solar radiation during the day, and
because of their relatively high thermal capacities are able to radiate strongly for many
hours after sunset.
Metal Surfaces
Bare metal surfaces appear in dark tones on both day and night images because of their
cold radiant temperature.
Their shiny surfaces have much lower emissivity than other substances found in aerial
reconnaissance.
High-temperature Sources
Forest fire, geothermal sources, or active volcanoes appear hot at all times.
Covered features
Buried heating lines can be detected on nighttime winter images.
Nighttime images may also record small streams beneath a vegetation canopy.
Ghosts
Airplanes or automobiles that have been parked on asphalt or concrete surface during the
day shield the surface from the solar radiation. When they are removed, they leave ghost
impressions that may be detectable for several hours by the thermal images.

Applications of Thermal Remote Sensing

Topography and geological structure
Soil moisture
Surface temperature
Rock types
Geothermal
Monitoring forest fire

Quantitative Analysis of Thermal Images

Radiometric calibration
Thermal imagers are typically across-track scanners that detect emitted radiation in only
the thermal portion of the spectrum. Thermal sensors employ one or more internal
temperature references for comparison with the detected radiation, so they can be related
to absolute radiant temperature.
At the beginning and end of each scan, the sensor will typically look at a hot and cold
targets maintained at known temperature to convert the ground views to apparent
temperatures; The detectors are cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero in order to
limit their own thermal emissions.
To remove atmospheric effects it is necessary to perform either empirical comparisons
with in situ measurements or use an atmospheric model to remove atmospheric effects.
For example, use a simple linear regression equation between the brightness values and
the in situ measurements:
BVij = a Tkin4 + b
where BVij is the brightness values at the location(i,j)
For analysis, an image of relative radiant temperatures (a thermogram) is depicted in gray
levels, with warmer temperatures shown in light tones, and cooler temperatures in dark
tones. Imagery that portrays relative temperature differences in their relative spatial
locations is sufficient for most applications.
Absolute temperature measurements may be calculated but require accurate calibration
and measurement of the temperature references and detailed knowledge of the thermal
properties of the target, geometric distortions, and radiometric effects.
Because of the relatively long wavelength of thermal radiation (compared to visible
radiation), atmospheric scattering is minimal.
Quantitative Analysis of Landsat Thermal Imagery
1. Conversion of DN values to Absolute Radiance
Gain and offset (bias)
The ETM+ images are acquired in either a low or high gain state (Figure 1). The science
goal in switching gain states is to maximize the instrument's 8-bit radiometric resolution
without saturating the detectors. This requires matching the gain state for a given scene to
the expected brightness conditions.
For all Landsat ETM+ bands, the low gain dynamic range is approximately 1.5 times the
high gain dynamic range.
When surface brightness is high, the sensor images in low gain mode. It is in high gain
mode when surface brightness is lower.

Figure 1 Design ETM+ Reflective Band High and Low gain Dynamic Ranges

The per-band sensitivity of the instrument is set by adjusting the gain to conditions
expected for that time of year for different type of terrain features (Land (non-desert,
non-ice); Desert; Ice/Snow; Water; Sea Ice; Volcano/Night)
Bands 1,2 and 3 are set to high or low gain as a group. Gain settings for bands 5 and 7
are set similarly.
Band 6 acquired in both high and low gain mode, while bands 4 and 8 are set
individually according to land surface brightness conditions. Band gains are set on a
month-by-month basis.
Conversion to Absolute Radiance
The DN values of each Landsat image band were scaled from the absolute radiance
measure to byte values prior to media output using the gain and bias (offset) values given
for each band.
The DN values can be converted back to the radiance units using the following equation:
Radiance=gain*DN+offset
Which is also expressed as
 Radiance=((LMAX-LMIN)/(QCALMAX-QCALMIN))*(QCAL-QCALMIN)+LMIN
Where: QCALMIN = 1 for LPGS
QCALMIN = 0 for NLAPS
QCALMAX = 255
QCAL = Digital Number
The LMIN corresponds to the radiance at the minimum quantized and calibrated data
digital number (QCALMIN=0) and LMAX corresponds to the radiance at the maximum
quantized and calibrated data digital number (QCALMAX=255). Table 1 lists two sets of
LMINs and LMAXs. The first set should be used for 1G products created before July 1,
2000 and the second set for 1G products created after July 1, 2000.
For the band 6, a bias was found in the pre-launch calibration by a team of independent
investigators post launch. For data processed before this, the image radiances given by
the above transform are 0.31 w/(m2 ster m) too high. You have to subtract this value
after the conversion.
Table 1 ETM+ Spectral Radiance Range
watts/(meter squared * ster * m)
Before July 1, 2000 After July 1, 2000

Band Low Gain High Gain Low Gain High Gain

Number LMIN LMAX LMIN LMAX LMIN LMAX LMIN LMAX

1 -6.2 297.5 -6.2 194.3 -6.2 293.7 -6.2 191.6

2 -6.0 303.4 -6.0 202.4 -6.4 300.9 -6.4 196.5
3 -4.5 235.5 -4.5 158.6 -5.0 234.4 -5.0 152.9
4 -4.5 235.0 -4.5 157.5 -5.1 241.1 -5.1 157.4
5 -1.0 47.70 -1.0 31.76 -1.0 47.57 -1.0 31.06
6 0.0 17.04 3.2 12.65 0.0 17.04 3.2 12.65
7 -0.35 16.60 -0.35 10.932 -0.35 16.54 -0.35 10.80
8 -5.0 244.00 -5.0 158.40 -4.7 243.1 -4.7 158.3

2. Conversion of radiance to Temperature

ETM+ Band 6 imagery can also be converted from spectral radiance (as described above)
to a more physically useful variable. This is the effective at-satellite temperature of the
viewed Earth-atmosphere system under an assumption of unity emissivity and using pre-
launch calibration constants listed in Table 2.
Once the data has been converted to radiance, the at-satellite temperature can be
calculated under an assumption of unity emissivity and using the pre-launch calibration
constants K1 and K2. The conversion formula is:
 Where:
T = Effective at-satellite temperature in Kelvin
K2 = Calibration constant 2 from Table 2
K1 = Calibration constant 1 from Table 2
L = Spectral radiance in watts/(meter squared * ster * m)
Table 2: ETM+ Thermal Constants
Constant Value Units
K1 666.09 watts/(meter squared * ster * m)
K2 1282.71 temperature degrees (Kelvin)
Band 6L gain ranges from 0 - 357 Kelvin; Band 6H gain ranges from 240 - 322 Kelvin.

3. Conversion of Radiance to Reflectance

For relatively clear Landsat scenes, a reduction in between-scene variability can be
achieved through normalization for solar irradiance by converting spectral radiance, as
calculated above, to planetary reflectance or albedo.
This combined surface and atmospheric reflectance of the Earth is computed with the
following formula:
Where:

= Unitless planetary reflectance

= Spectral radiance at the sensor's aperture

= Earth-Sun distance in astronomical units from nautical handbook

or interpolated from values listed in Table 2

= Mean solar exoatmospheric irradiances from Table 3

= Solar zenith angle in degrees

Table 3: ETM+ Solar Spectral Irradiances

Band watts/(meter squared * m)
1 1970.000
2 1843.000
3 1555.000
4 1047.000
5 227.100
7 80.530
8 1368.000
Table 4: Earth-Sun Distance in Astronomical Units
Julian Julian Julian
Julian Day Distance Julian Day Distance Distance Distance Distance
Day Day Day
1 .9832 74 .9945 152 1.0140 227 1.0128 305 .9925
15 .9836 91 .9993 166 1.0158 242 1.0092 319 .9892
32 .9853 106 1.0033 182 1.0167 258 1.0057 335 .9860
46 .9878 121 1.0076 196 1.0165 274 1.0011 349 .9843
60 .9909 135 1.0109 213 1.0149 288 .9972 365 .9833

Reading Assignment:
Chapter 8 in Jensen, J.R. 2000. Remote Sensing of the Environment: An Earth Resource
Perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice Hall. 544 pp.