Estimation of Rock Characteristics Based on Polarization Spectra: Surface Roughness, Composition, and Density

Abstract

Surface polarization characteristics provide crucial structural information of the Earth's surface. As two key elements of the natural geographical environment, rocks and soils play an important role in the study of surface processes. Inherent surface characteristics, such as surface roughness, composition, and density are critical parameters for the remote monitoring of land surfaces as they affect the polarization characteristics of scattered light waves. In this study, we investigated the relationship between surface roughness, composition, and density, and the polarization spectra of limestone-dolomite series rock. Results reveal a power function relationship between the surface roughness and the degree of polarization peaks among different detection zenith and azimuth angles. The depth and position of the absorbing waveband are significantly correlated with the characteristic component contents. The rock density was determined via the polarized reflection spectra, with the Earth's surface density calculations associated with a 2.6% divergence from the current recognized data. Our results demonstrate the ability of polarized spectra to retrieve surface roughness, composition, and density, with potential for further development in future work.