Surface coating effects in remote sensing measurements

Measurements of the infrared spectra of a liquid-(water) coated quartz substrate and a solid-(pyrophyllite) coated quartzite are compared to theoretical values. Results demonstrate that in the case of the water-coated quartz, a loss in spectral contrast of the quartz emission occurs at the principal restrahlen wavelengths of 8.5, 9.0, and 12.5 µ but is most pronounced at 12.5 µ. In the case of pyrophyllite-coated quartzite, additional spectral features appear between 8.0 and 10.0 µ as the exposure of quartzite through the pyrophyllite coating is increased. Addition of the pure quartzite and pyrophyllite spectra, weighted by exposed area, is shown to satisfactorily describe the composite spectra.