The equifinality of bidirectional reflectance distribution functions of various microstructures

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Abstract
The question whether the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) has a one-to-one correspondence with the surface microstructure is addressed. A technique is developed to simulate a wide range of microelements and their BRDF. Results from the simulation show a significant number of cases of equifinality in which a variety of microstructures exhibit the same BRDF. Analysis of these cases suggests that there are many distinctively different combinations of structural properties which can balance the effect of structure on the reflected radiance field. A comparison of field measurements with the simulated cases confirms that BRDF equifinality must be considered in remote sensing applications where there is a need to derive surface properties like roughness, microstructure and texture from satellite data.

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