This research project will employ a fundamentally new approach to optical remote sensing of atmospheric haze, using both hyperspectral and multispectral imaging techniques. The scientific objective is to measure for the first time the combined angular and spectral properties of tropospheric haze at visible wavelengths. Because no such measured angular distributions of haze spectra exists, these datasets will constitute an entirely new tool with which to vet atmospheric radiative transfer models. A second scientific objective is to analyze the range of haze's colorimetric and photometric properties, important visual measures that are little better understood than its spectral ones.
The intellectual merit of the project is twofold. First, it will permit a systematic analysis of haze optical properties that is now impossible, mapping actual distributions of tropospheric haze spectra as functions of sun elevation, scattering angle, and haze aerosol optical depth. Second, the research will provide independent tests of the colorimetric, photometric, and spectral accuracies of multispectral imaging systems based on RGB digital cameras. When acquired through a linear polarizer, hyperspectral data also can be used to independently test existing multispectral techniques for mapping haze polarization. Spectral measurements of haze polarization are rare, and data obtained in this study will be unique.
Beyond advancing atmospheric science itself, the research will (1) benefit science education and (2) have broader impacts on the general public. On point (1) digital imaging techniques will be used both in daily classroom instruction and in year-long honors research projects for Naval Academy midshipmen. On point (2), better understanding the angular and spectral distribution of haze has practical applications in such areas as improving visibility for drivers, pilots, and sailors, estimating object distances from single outdoor images, and providing new ways to measure air pollution properties.
