Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / The primary objective of this research is to test and validate a geometric-optical bidirectional reflectance canopy model developed by Li and Strahler, with respect to actual forest canopy reflectance measurments. This model treats forest canopies as scenes of discrete, three dimensional objects that are illuminated and viewed from different positions in the hemisphere. The shapes of the objects, their count densities and patterns of placement are the driving variables, and they condition the mixture of sunlit and shaded objects and background that is observed from a particular viewing direction, given a direction of illumination. This mixture, in turn, controls the brightness apparent to an observer or a radiometric instrument. The Advanced Solid-State Array Spectroradiometer (ASAS) is chosen to be the sensor having the ability of collecting measurements at various look angles and its imaged reflectance was used to validate the model. The modelled BRF's were compared to actual ASAS measured BRF's in sites with different canopy structures and densities. The comparision revealed execellent match between the modelled and measured reflectance, and great ability of the model in predicting the shape and magnitude of the BRDF, in almost all the sites investigated. It is concluded that the geometric optics approach provided a good way to model the bidirectional reflectance distribution function of natural vegetation canopies, that captures the most important features exhibited by bidirectional measurements of such canopies. Further modifications have been suggested that will improve the predicted BRF's, and yield better results. [TRUNCATED]
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/22548 |
| Date | January 1986 |
| Creators | Abuelgasim, Abdelgadir A. M. |
| Publisher | Boston University |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | This thesis is being made available in OpenBU by permission of its author, and is available for research purposes only. All rights are reserved to the author. |
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