3D scene simulation of natural backgrounds at TIR wavelengths

We describe a modeling framework for simulating the thermal infrared response from natural backgrounds exhibiting three-dimensional spatial structure. Our approach uses surface energy balance models to calculate component temperatures for the basic vegetation and soil elements making up the landscape. Rendering software is then used to create synthetic infrared scenes as imaged from sensors of varying resolution and viewing geometry. The model is driven by an environmental database containing three kinds of data: terrain (e.g., topography, soil types, soil moisture, and vegetation types); meteorological data (e.g., air temperature, visibility, and cloud cover); and spatially explicit geometric models for the landscape elements