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Published January 29, 1996 | public
Journal Article

Visibility Model Based on Satellite-Generated Landscape Data

Abstract

A model has been developed that uses simulated photographs to display the effect of atmospheric aerosols and gases on visibility. The model is driven by data on landscape features taken from earth-orbiting satellites, combined with digital terrain elevation data, and can be applied on a global scale. The effects of light scattering and absorption by atmospheric aerosols and gases on sky color and on the appearance of objects in the field of view are calculated. The results are displayed as a synthetic color photograph of the expected appearance of the scene. Quantitative comparisons are made between these synthetic images and actual photographs taken from the ground on the specific clear day and smog event days being simulated.

Additional Information

© 1996 American Chemical Society. Received for review November 23, 1994. Revised manuscript received August 2, 1995. Accepted August 29, 1995. The authors thank Christine Sloane of Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories for advice and assistance on the skylight model calculations. Financial support for this research was provided by the Caltech Center for Air Quality Analysis and by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This article is based on a paper presented at the Third International Aerosol Conference of the International Aerosol Research Assembly and Japan Association of Aerosol Science and Technology in Kyoto, Japan, September 26, 1990.

Additional details

Created:
August 20, 2023
Modified:
October 20, 2023