The optical properties of a surface may change significantly in response to contaminants from the environment and/or human activity. We utilize a first principles, physics-based radiometric ray tracing software package to evaluate the spectral polarimetric bi-directional reflectance distribution function (p-BRDF) of the virgin and contaminated surfaces. In the absence of contaminants and allowing only single bounces, we find the simulated reflectance properties of randomly rough Gaussian surfaces to be well represented by micro-facet based p-BRDF analytical models. However the addition of contaminants introduces phenomenology that falls outside the basic assumptions of the micro-facet analytical p-BRDF models. We will present initial results of p-BRDF simulations of random Gaussian surfaces with liquid contaminants.

Date Published: 31 March 2008
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 6972, Polarization: Measurement, Analysis, and Remote Sensing VIII, 697213 (31 March 2008); doi: 10.1117/12.801904

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6972:
Polarization: Measurement, Analysis, and Remote Sensing VIII
David B. Chenault; Dennis H. Goldstein, Editor(s)