Spectral reflectance of polar bear and other large Arctic mammal pelts; potential applications to remote sensing surveys

Spectral reflectance within the 350–2500 nm range was measured for 17 pelts of arctic mammals (polar bear, caribou, muskox, and ringed, harp and bearded seals) in relation to snow. Reflectance of all pelts was very low at the ultraviolet (UV) end of the spectrum (<10%), increased through the visu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Remote Sensing
Main Authors: Leblanc, George, Francis, Charles M., Soffer, Raymond, Kalacska, Margaret, de Gea, Julie
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/rs8040273
https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/ft/?id=a0e64e9a-db04-41d1-93c9-24d45761a08f
https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=a0e64e9a-db04-41d1-93c9-24d45761a08f
https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=a0e64e9a-db04-41d1-93c9-24d45761a08f
Description
Summary:Spectral reflectance within the 350–2500 nm range was measured for 17 pelts of arctic mammals (polar bear, caribou, muskox, and ringed, harp and bearded seals) in relation to snow. Reflectance of all pelts was very low at the ultraviolet (UV) end of the spectrum (<10%), increased through the visual and near infrared, peaking at 40%–60% between 1100 and 1400 nm and then gradually dropped, though remaining above 20% until at least 1800 nm. In contrast, reflectance of snow was very high in the UV range (>90%), gradually dropped to near zero at 1500 nm, and then fluctuated between zero and 20% up to 2500 nm. All pelts could be distinguished from clean snow at many wavelengths. The polar bear pelts had higher and more uniform averaged reflectance from about 600–1100 nm than most other pelts, but discrimination was challenging due to variation in pelt color and intensity among individuals within each species. Results suggest promising approaches for using remote sensing tools with a broad spectral range to discriminate polar bears and other mammals from clean snow. Further data from live animals in their natural environment are needed to develop functions to discriminate among species of mammals and to determine whether other environmental elements may have similar reflectance. Peer reviewed: Yes NRC publication: Yes