Radiative transfer model for contaminated rough slabs

TL;DR

This paper introduces a fast semi-analytical radiative transfer model for simulating the reflectance spectra of rough, impurity-containing slabs, optimized for hyperspectral data analysis of planetary ices and similar surfaces.

Contribution

It presents a novel, computationally efficient model for bidirectional reflectance of rough slabs with inclusions, applicable to planetary surfaces and other materials.

Findings

Model accurately simulates BRDF spectra of contaminated slabs

Optimized for high-resolution hyperspectral data analysis

Applicable to planetary ices and similar surfaces

Abstract

We present a semi-analytical model to simulate bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) spectra of a rough slab layer containing impurities. This model has been optimized for fast computation in order to analyze hyperspectral data. We designed it for planetary surfaces ices studies but it could be used for other purposes. It estimates the bidirectional reflectance of a rough slab of material containing inclusions, overlaying an optically thick media (semi-infinite media or stratified media, for instance granular material). The inclusions are supposed to be close to spherical, and of any type of other material than the ice matrix. It can be any type of other ice, mineral or even bubbles, defined by their optical constants. We suppose a low roughness and we consider the geometrical optics conditions. This model is thus applicable for inclusions larger than the considered wavelength. The scattering on the inclusions is assumed to be isotropic. This model has a fast computation implementation and thus is suitable for high resolution hyperspectral data analysis.