HR: 08:28h
AN: A31C-02 INVITED    [Abstracts]
TI: Virtues of Polarization in Remote Sensing of Atmospheres and Oceans
AU: * Kattawar, G W
EM: kattawar@tamu.edu
AF: Texas A&M University, Department of Physics, College Station, TX 77843-4242, United States
AB: Polarization of skylight has been used for navigation by many insects and ocean organisms for millions of years. In fact, some marine organisms rely on polarization vision for their very existence. However, the use of polarization in remote sensing is just now becoming a powerful tool in many areas of science such as in the detection of cancerous skin lesions, bioaerosols (such as anthrax), hydrosols in the ocean, and plant diseases, just to mention a few. We will first introduce the Stokes parameter-Mueller matrix formalism and discuss ways to measure the elements of both. Several methods will be discussed to show how a combination of polarimetric quantities can be mapped to improve contrast by the human visual system when ordinary radiance measurements fail to do so. These ideas will be extended into the multiple scattering domain where we will introduce an "effective Mueller matrix" and see the benefits arising from it. One of the primary reasons for inclusion of polarization in the equation of transfer is that it is the only correct way to do radiative transfer. We will then conclude with areas of future research that will surely lead to even more striking applications.
DE: 0305 Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801, 4906)
DE: 3360 Remote sensing
DE: 4264 Ocean optics (0649)
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting