Feasibility of polarized all-sky imaging for aerosol characterization

In this study, we investigate the method of polarized all-sky imaging with respect to aerosol characterization. As a technical frame work for image processing and analysis, we propose Zernike polynomials to decompose the relative Stokes parameter distributions. This defines a suitable and efficient...

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Main Authors: A. Kreuter, M. Blumthaler
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2013-07-01
Series:Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Online Access:http://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/6/1845/2013/amt-6-1845-2013.pdf
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spelling doaj-98b9d343c1ba46598deea972801f96512020-11-24T23:47:57ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Measurement Techniques1867-13811867-85482013-07-01671845185410.5194/amt-6-1845-2013Feasibility of polarized all-sky imaging for aerosol characterizationA. KreuterM. BlumthalerIn this study, we investigate the method of polarized all-sky imaging with respect to aerosol characterization. As a technical frame work for image processing and analysis, we propose Zernike polynomials to decompose the relative Stokes parameter distributions. This defines a suitable and efficient feature vector which is also appealing because it is independent of calibration, circumvents overexposure problems and is robust against pixel noise. We model the polarized radiances of realistic aerosol scenarios and construct the feature vector space of the key aerosol types in terms of the first two principal components describing the maximal variances. We show that, using this representation, aerosol types can be clearly distinguished with respect to fine and coarse mode dominated size distribution and index of refraction. We further investigate the individual influences of varying aerosol properties and solar zenith angle. This suggests that polarized all-sky imaging may improve aerosol characterization in combination with sky scanning radiometers of the existing Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) especially at low aerosol optical depths and low solar zenith angles.http://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/6/1845/2013/amt-6-1845-2013.pdf
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author A. Kreuter
M. Blumthaler
spellingShingle A. Kreuter
M. Blumthaler
Feasibility of polarized all-sky imaging for aerosol characterization
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
author_facet A. Kreuter
M. Blumthaler
author_sort A. Kreuter
title Feasibility of polarized all-sky imaging for aerosol characterization
title_short Feasibility of polarized all-sky imaging for aerosol characterization
title_full Feasibility of polarized all-sky imaging for aerosol characterization
title_fullStr Feasibility of polarized all-sky imaging for aerosol characterization
title_full_unstemmed Feasibility of polarized all-sky imaging for aerosol characterization
title_sort feasibility of polarized all-sky imaging for aerosol characterization
publisher Copernicus Publications
series Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
issn 1867-1381
1867-8548
publishDate 2013-07-01
description In this study, we investigate the method of polarized all-sky imaging with respect to aerosol characterization. As a technical frame work for image processing and analysis, we propose Zernike polynomials to decompose the relative Stokes parameter distributions. This defines a suitable and efficient feature vector which is also appealing because it is independent of calibration, circumvents overexposure problems and is robust against pixel noise. We model the polarized radiances of realistic aerosol scenarios and construct the feature vector space of the key aerosol types in terms of the first two principal components describing the maximal variances. We show that, using this representation, aerosol types can be clearly distinguished with respect to fine and coarse mode dominated size distribution and index of refraction. We further investigate the individual influences of varying aerosol properties and solar zenith angle. This suggests that polarized all-sky imaging may improve aerosol characterization in combination with sky scanning radiometers of the existing Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) especially at low aerosol optical depths and low solar zenith angles.
url http://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/6/1845/2013/amt-6-1845-2013.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT akreuter feasibilityofpolarizedallskyimagingforaerosolcharacterization
AT mblumthaler feasibilityofpolarizedallskyimagingforaerosolcharacterization
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