Comparison of sky polarization observations to radiative transfer simulations which use AERONET retrieval data

Nathan J. Pust; Andrew R. Dahlberg; Michael J. Thomas; Joseph A. Shaw

doi:10.1117/12.894637

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9 September 2011 Comparison of sky polarization observations to radiative transfer simulations which use AERONET retrieval data

Nathan J. Pust, Andrew R. Dahlberg, Michael J. Thomas, Joseph A. Shaw

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Proceedings Volume 8160, Polarization Science and Remote Sensing V; 81600G (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894637
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Observed polarization and radiance images from a ground-based full-sky polarimeter are compared against a Successive Order of Scattering (SOS) radiative transfer model for July 2011 cloud-free days in Bozeman, Montana, USA. The imaging polarimeter measures radiance and polarization in 10-nm bands centered at 450, 490, 530, 675, and 780 nm. The AERONET-retrieved aerosol optical depth, size distribution, and refractive index are used as inputs to the SOS model. MISR BRDF retrievals are used for the surface reflectance. As shown in a previous work1 that considered 2009 data, model results generally agree with observation, but the simulated degree of polarization is typically higher than observed data. Potential sources of this difference are considered, especially errors in the AERONET-retrieved aerosol real refractive index.

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Nathan J. Pust, Andrew R. Dahlberg, Michael J. Thomas, and Joseph A. Shaw "Comparison of sky polarization observations to radiative transfer simulations which use AERONET retrieval data", Proc. SPIE 8160, Polarization Science and Remote Sensing V, 81600G (9 September 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894637

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