Polarized MODTRAN 3.7 applied to characterization of ocean color in the presence of aerosols

Walter G. Egan; Quanhua Liu

doi:10.1117/12.452893

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9 January 2002 Polarized MODTRAN 3.7 applied to characterization of ocean color in the presence of aerosols

Walter G. Egan, Quanhua Liu

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Proceedings Volume 4481, Polarization Analysis and Measurement IV; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.452893
Event: International Symposium on Optical Science and Technology, 2001, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

The color of the ocean and estuarine waters are key indicators of pollutants as well as biological phenomenon. However atmospheric aerosols can be produce a significant bias in the observations. Of particular importance is dust from the Sahara and Gobi Deserts on the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean photometric observations. Polarization can be used to deconvolute the effects of aerosols. In comparison to non- absorbing aerosols, the desert aerosol has opposite behavior for epsilon function with wavelength. Results show the degree of plane polarization decreases with the increase of the aerosol optical thickness and is wavelength dependent. The degree of polarization increases as the viewing zenith angle increase. An additional fallout of this analysis is the effect of aerosols on the ocean heat exchange; warming or cooling can occur depending upon the optical properties of the aerosols. Further, the visibility of military targets is strongly a function of aerosol scattering properties.

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Walter G. Egan and Quanhua Liu "Polarized MODTRAN 3.7 applied to characterization of ocean color in the presence of aerosols", Proc. SPIE 4481, Polarization Analysis and Measurement IV, (9 January 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.452893

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