Testing the Spectroradiometer

So, after our successful day of investigating the glacier, we thought we should make sure that everybody in the team knows how to use the spectroradiometer. This thing (aka the FieldSpec) is what we are using to measure how much energy a surface reflects across a wide range of wavelengths, all the way from infrared through the visible to the ultraviolet.


Here, you can see Jon, Gareth, and Fjord testing out the machine. Jon is holding a reference panel – this very bright white square tells us what 100% reflectance looks like so we can calibrate the FieldSpec. The sensor is on the end of the pole that Gareth is holding, currently measuring the reference panel. A fibre optic cable runs from the sensor to the detectors in the machine on Gareth’s backpack. All of this is controlled by the laptop sitting on the belly-board hanging off of Gareth’s next. Although it’s a bit of a hassle to get on/off, one it is set up you only need to hit the space bar to take a measurement!

We only measured some of the rocks and tundra outside the station, but hopefully soon we'll have some meaningful data on the glaciers.