Land in Focus – Basics of Remote Sensing

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BTV-Hero Forums Land in Focus – Basics of Remote Sensing Active Imaging Techniques

  • Hoontaek Lee

    Member
    October 24, 2021 at 2:52 pm

    Hi,
    In the Specular reflection animation, if the surface is very smooth, then how can the system detect the signal, especially at the location in the video? I cannot see a backscattered signal toward the satellite.

    • Kai Heckel

      Member
      October 25, 2021 at 11:06 am

      Hi Hoontaek,
      thank you for your question.

      In the specific case of specular reflection, there is no signal returned to the sensor (imagine a mirror to which you point a flashlight from the side). Therefore, calm water surfaces are perfect examples of specular reflection with extremely low backscatter values, making them the darkest pixels in the image.

      Hope this helps.