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Surface Truth

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

  • 262 Accesses

Synonyms

Ground truth

Definition and overview

The purpose of a scientific remote sensing instrument is to estimate geophysical properties of a target from indirect measurements of its electromagnetic radiation, propagation, and scattering. Geophysical properties, such as ocean surface temperature or atmospheric abundance of a certain molecule, are deduced from their electromagnetic properties. The procedure typically requires approximations, assumptions, and the use of measurements that contain random and systematic errors. As a result, the accuracy and precision of the geophysical estimates are usually validated by some independent means. Surface truth refers to some form of independent knowledge about the geophysical property being estimated. It is used to characterize the quality of the remote sensing data product, often using such statistical measures as the root-mean-square or the average difference between the remote sensing estimate and the surface truth.

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Bibliography

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Christopher Ruf

Authors
  1. Christopher Ruf
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

    Eni G. Njoku

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Ruf, C. (2014). Surface Truth. In: Njoku, E.G. (eds) Encyclopedia of Remote Sensing. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36699-9_180

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