Experimental measurements for studying angular and spectral variation of thermal infrared emissivity

One condition for precise multiangle algorithms for estimating sea and land surface temperature with the data from the Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer is accurate knowledge of the angular variation of surface emissivity in the thermal IR spectrum region. Today there are very few measurements of this variation. The present study is conducted to provide angular emissivity measurements for five representative samples (water, clay, sand, loam, gravel). The measurements are made in one thermal IR broadband (8-13 microm) and three narrower bands (8.2-9.2, 10.3-11.3, and 11.5-12.5 microm) at angles of 0 degrees-60 degrees (at 5 degrees increments) to the surface normal. The results show a general decrease in emissivity with increasing viewing angles, with the 8.2-9.2-microm channel the most sensitive to this dependence and sand the sample showing the greatest variation.