X
PrevPrev Go to previous topic
NextNext Go to next topic
Last Post 14 Sep 2015 05:05 AM by  anon
Landsat Reflectance Values
 2 Replies
Sort:
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Author Messages

anon



New Member


Posts:
New Member


--
14 Sep 2015 05:05 AM
    Hi there, I have performed Landsat radiometric calibration to reflectance using the radiometric calibration tool in ENVI. I'm just a bit confused about the output. As far as I understand it, the values are TOA reflectance ranging from 0-1 (0 to 100%?). According to the literature I've read, sand should have a high reflectance in most bands and also ought to be some of the brightest pixels in my scene, since they appear almost white. Why is it that my beaches have values of around 0.25 to 0.4? Should it not be higher? My spectral curve appears to be the right shape, though - just with much lower values than I expected. The brightest pixels in my image are undoubtedly due to cloud, but even these values only go up to 0.7. Should the brightest pixels in my image not be 1.0? Perhaps I'm totally misunderstanding. Any explanation will be massively appreciated. Thanks!

    MariM



    Veteran Member


    Posts:2396
    Veteran Member


    --
    14 Sep 2015 11:16 AM
    While (white) sand is bright, it is not a perfect reflector. It is not common to have a perfect reflector that returns 100% of the energy that travels to the earth, through the atmosphere and back. Additionally, TOA reflectance does not take into account the influence of the atmosphere. I would suggest to get the best estimate of reflectance for your image, you will need to perform an atmospheric correction using something like FLAASH, Quac or empirical line calibration (which requires field measurements).

    Deleted User



    New Member


    Posts:
    New Member


    --
    15 Sep 2015 02:19 AM
    Thanks for your reply!
    You are not authorized to post a reply.