Abstract:

Leading a laboratory session has particular challenges and opportunities that differ from those in a standard classroom environment. The potential goals of the Instrumentation laboratory in the Remote Sensing Master’s degree of the University of Valencia (Spain) are mainly to apply concepts learned in class to new situations with the opportunity to explore methods and instruments used by scientists in their discipline.

The main objective of this work is to show the integration of the Instrumentation laboratory and classroom for the particular subject of spectroscopy. Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter. The interaction might give rise to electronic excitations, (e.g. UV) and molecular vibrations (e.g. IR). It is common to teach the basic principles of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter during the university degree of Physics, however other graduate students attending the Remote Sensing Master might lack from these theoretical principles. The spectroradiometer laboratory experiences offer the opportunity to explain these concepts to a multidisciplinary audience.

With the recent developments in technology and thanks to instrumental financial grants from the university, the use of spectroradiometer for scientific use and teaching has become more accessible. In remote sensing, spectroradiometers are generally used to collect field data being the field spectroscopy technique well established for this purpose. The most common method used in field spectroscopy involves sequential measurements of the spectral radiance from the target of interest followed by that from a calibrated white reference panel. Different exercises will be designed in the laboratory and outside to establish the measurements protocol and theory concepts. In particular, understanding the surface reflectance properties gives a deep insight into the use of remote sensing in the solar spectrum region. This activity is aimed to students of different disciplines requiring a proper knowledge of the process of light interaction with terrestrial surface.

Keywords:

Spectroscopy, laboratory, classroom, integration, Remote Sensing, tools.