Collecting a Spectral Reflectance Curve: An Exploration of the Electromagnetic Spectrum beyond Human Visibility

 

Summary of skills covered:

  • The Electromagnetic Spectrum
  • Different Types of Radiation
  • Spectral Reflectance Curves
  • The Effect of Material Composition (Vegetation) on the EMS
  • Using a spectrometer
  • Collecting data
  • Graphing results
Data needed: Students will collect and graph their own data using a spectrometer.
Equipment and Software needed:

Hardware: Spectrometer – a spectrometer kit is available from VirginiaView / the Virginia Geospatial Extension Program.  Contact John McGee or Jim Campbell for details.

Software: None

Related book exercise
(if applicable):

The (False) Color World: There's more to the world than meets the eye…


Arc Map screen capture

 

Objective

The goal of this lab is to learn about true and false color images.  Using ArcMap, you will hone your skills at image interpretation and gain a better appreciation for the use of “invisible” radiation in remote sensing.

 

Summary of skills covered:
  • Introduction to Remote Sensing
  • The Value of False Color Images
  • Different Types of Color Images
  • The Use of Contextual Clues for Feature Identification and basic image interpretation
Data needed:

True Color and False Color Images (any image