1) Describe three types of scattering that occur in the earths atmosphere.

Scattering is the process by which small particles suspended in a medium of different

index of refraction diffuse a portion of incident radiation in all direction. With scattering
there is no energy transformation, but a change in spatial distribution of the energy. Three
types of scattering includes, Rayleigh scattering, Mie scattering and non-selective
scattering.

Rayleigh scattering mainly consist of scattering from atmosphere gases. The process has
been named in honour of Lord Rayleigh, who in 1871 published a paper describing this
phenomenon. Rayleigh scattering can be considered to be elastic scattering since the
photon energies of the scattered photons is not changed. According to Gibson,(2012),
Rayleigh scattering refers to the scattering of light off of the molecules of the air, and can
be extended to scattering from particles up to about a tenth of the wavelength of the light
This occurs when the particles causing the scattering are smaller in size than the
wavelength of radiation in contact with them. This type of scattering is therefore
wavelength dependent. As the wavelength decreases, the amount of scattering increases.
This type of scattering is also known as clear sky scattering because it is the one that
explains why the sky is blue. The blue color of the sky is caused by the scattering of
sunlight off the molecules of the atmosphere. This scattering, called Rayleigh scattering,
is more effective at short wavelengths, the blue end of the visible spectrum. Therefore the
light scattered down to the earth at a large angle with respect to the direction of the sun's
light is predominantly in the blue end of the spectrum.

Mie scattering occurs when particles causing the scattering are much larger than the
wavelength of radiation in contact with them. It is the first type of scattering examined as
it is equally applicable to spheres of all sizes, refractive indices and for radiation at all
wavelengths. It is caused by pollen, dust, smoke, water droplets and other particles in the
lower portion of the atmosphere. Mie scattering tends to occur in the presence of water
vapor and dust and will dominate in overcast or humid conditions. This type ofscattering
explains the reddish hues of the sky following a forest fire or volcanic eruption,Lockwood
G.J,(2015). Mie scattering is responsible for the white appearance of the clouds. Mie
scattering is not strongly wavelength dependent and produces the almost white glare
around the sun.The Mie scattering has a strong forward lobe and increases as you
approach the sun's direction when a lot of particulate material is present in the air. Mie
scattering is greatly increased when the atmosphere is slightly overcast.

Non-selective scattering is another type of scattering that occurs in the lower portion of
the atmosphere. It occurs when the particles are much larger than the incident radiation.
Non-selective scattering is not wavelength dependent and is the primary cause of
haze,(Kenneth R,(2015). Non-selective scattering scatters all visible light evenly - hence
the term non-selective. In the visible wavelength light is scattered evenly, hence fog and
clouds appear white. Since clouds scatter all wavelengths of light this means that clouds
block all energy from reaching the Earth's surface. Clouds appear white because equal
quantities of blue, green and red light are being scattered.

2) Why is the sky blue.

The blueness of the sky is the result of a particular type of scattering which is known
as Rayleigh scattering .Rayleigh scattering refers to the selective scattering of light off
particles that are not bigger than one-tenth the wavelength of the light. Rayleigh
scattering is heavily dependent on the wavelength of light, with lower wavelength
light being scattered most. In the lower atmosphere, tiny oxygen and nitrogen
molecules scatter short-wavelength light, such as blue and violet light, to a far greater
degree than long-wavelength light, such as red and yellow. Schimid,(2013) states that
the sky is blue because blue light in the Sun's rays bends more than red light so as we
look in a direction of the sky away from the Sun, we see those wavelengths that bent
the most. Though the atmospheric particles scatter violet more than blue (450-nm
light), the sky appears blue, because our eyes are more sensitive to blue light and
because some of the violet light is absorbed in the upper atmosphere. Michael
(2013)Blue light has a short wavelength, and the particles in the air scatter it around,
making the sky appear blue. The light of day is actually a complex spectrum of many
different wavelengths, but it is dominated by light with wavelengths between 400
nanometers violet and 450 nanometers blue.

3). Define the following:

i).Spatial resolution refers to the size of the instantaneous field of view (IFOV) or
the ground pixel. Spatial resolution is a measure of the area or size of the smallest
dimension on the Earths surface over which an independent measurement can be
made by the sensor Kumar,(2014). The IFOV is the area on the ground that is viewed
by the sensor at a given instant in time. As such, it usually represents the ground area
that is represented by each pixel in a remotely sensed image. Spatial resolution has
important implications for how we define objects on the surface; the scale of analysis;
locational precision and accuracy as well as areal accuracy. Spatial resolution is
usually given as "nominal" spatial resolution which refers to the resolution for a
sample obtained from the nadir viewing position at the specified altitude of the
satellite. Spatial Resolution describes how much detail in a photographic image is
visible to the human eye. The ability to resolve or separate, small details is one way of
describing what we call spatial resolution. Spatial resolution of images acquired by
satellite sensor systems is usually expressed in meters. Based on the spatial resolution,
satellite systems can be classified as follows, low resolution systems, medium
resolution systems, high resolution systems and very high resolution systems. Remote
sensing systems with spatial resolution more than 1km are generally considered as
low resolution systems. MODIS and AVHRR are some of the very low resolution
sensors used in the satellite remote sensing. When the spatial resolution is 100m
1km, such systems are considered as moderate resolution systems, Dorji P,(2017).
Remote sensing systems with spatial resolution approximately in the range 5-100m
are classified as high resolution for example Landsat ETM+ (30m). Very high
resolution systems are those which provide less than 5m spatial resolution such as
GeoEye (0.45m for Panchromatic.

(ii). Radiometric resolution is often called contrast ,it can be defined as the
sensitivity of a remote sensing detector to differentiate in signal strength as it records
the radiant flux reflected or emitted from the terrain. It refers to the dynamic range, or
number of possible data-file values in each band. It describes the ability of the sensor
to measure the signal strength (acoustic reflectance) or brightness of
objects.According to Mathew,(2014),The more sensitive a sensor is to the reflectance
of an object as compared to its surroundings, the smaller an object that can be
detected and identified. Radiometric resolution specifies how well the differences in
brightness in an image can be perceived. This is measured through the number of the
grey value levels, and the maximum number of values is defined by the number of
bits. The finer or the higher the radiometric resolution is, the better small differences
in reflected or emitted radiation can be measured, and the larger the volume of
measured data. Radiometric resolution depends on the wavelengths and the type of
the spectrometer.

(iii).Spectral resolution is defined as the ability of a sensor to define fine wavelength

intervals or the ability of a sensor to resolve the energy received in a spectral
bandwidth to characterize different constituents of earth surface. The finer the spectral
resolution, the narrower the wavelength range for a particular channel or band. In
remote sensing, different features are identified from the image by comparing their
responses over different distinct spectral bands Kumar,(2016). Broad classes, such as
water and vegetation, can be easily separated using very broad wavelength ranges like
visible and near-infrared. However, for more specific classes vegetation type or rock
classification, much finer wavelength ranges and hence finer spectral resolution are
required. a sensor's spectral resolution specifies the number of spectral bands in which
the sensor can collect reflected radiance. Brian(2012) further argues that the number
of bands is not the only important aspect of spectral resolution. The position of bands
in the electromagnetic spectrum is important, too.

(iv)Temporal resolution is defined as the amount of time needed to revisit and

acquire data for the exact same location. When applied to remote sensing, this amount
of time depends on the orbital characteristics of the sensor platform as well as sensor
characteristics. The temporal resolution is high when the revisiting delay is low and
vice-versa. Temporal resolution is usually expressed in days, (Jrme Thau,2012).
The actual temporal resolution of a sensor depends on a variety of factors, including
the satellite/sensor capabilities, the swath overlap, and latitude.
Brian.O(2012).National High Magnetic Field Laboratory;The Florida State
University.

Dorji P,(2017). Impact of the spatial resolution of satellite remote sensing sensors
in the quantification of total suspended sediment concentration. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Gibson P.J(2012).Introductory Remote Sensing- Principles and Concepts

Routledge, London

Jerom,T(2012).Temporal resolution,Springer.

Kenneth R.(2015).Scientific Consultants,lusby.Marryland.

Kumar D.N(2016).Basics of Remote Sensing and GIS;Tallahassee,Florida.USA.

Lockwood D.J,(2015).Rayleigh and Mie scattering.Springer.

Matthew J. P(2014).Radiometric Resolution;Journal of remote sensing,Taylor and

Frances.

Schimid D(2013).Why is the sky blue;Chicago,USA.