Question

Describe how scientists use near IR to study the health of plants.

Answer 1

Answer : Healthy vegetation absorbs blue- and red-light energy to fuel photosynthesis and create chlorophyll. A plant with more chlorophyll will reflect more near-infrared energy than an unhealthy plant.

Plants look green because they reflect green light. At the same time, they also reflect near infrared light, which we can’t see. Healthy plants with more chlorophyll are known to reflect more NIR, so by analyzing the difference in its reflection, it is possible to get a picture of a crop’s health. Healthy crops will appear as red in the satellite imagery, while yellowish areas show unhealthy crops.