Imaging trace gas concentrations with a compact snapshot device that converts their spectral features into a polarization signal

While the concentrations of trace gases in Earth’s atmosphere were roughly constant for thousands of years, human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels have caused significant changes ever since the industrial revolution. The remote sensing of trace gases has proved to be a useful technique for mapping and monitoring on the global scale...

Thermal design of the EarthCARE MSI-VNS instrument

The EarthCARE satellite mission objective is the observation of clouds and aerosols from low Earth orbit. The payload will include active remote sensing instruments being the W- band Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) and the ATLID LIDAR. These are supported by the passive instruments BroadBand Radiometer (BBR) and the Multispectral Imager (MSI)...

The visible, near-infrared and short wave infrared channels of the EarthCARE multi-spectral imager

The EarthCARE satellite mission objective is the observation of clouds and aerosols from low Earth orbit. The payload will include active remote sensing instruments being the W-band Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) and the ATLID LIDAR. These are supported by the passive instruments Broadband Radiometer (BBR) and the Multispectral Imager (MSI)...

Laser gated viewing: An enabler for Automatic Target Recognition?

For many decades attempts to accomplish Automatic Target Recognition have been made using both visual and FLIR camera systems. A recurring problem in these approaches is the segmentation problem, which is the separation between the target and its background. This paper describes an approach to Automatic Target Recognition using a laser gated...

Passive ranging using an infrared search and track sensor

We present new techniques for passive ranging with a dual-band IR search and track (IRST) sensor aboard a ship. Three distance estimation methods are described: the atmospheric propagation model, the apparent surface of the target, and target motion analysis (TMA). These methods are tested on the sensor output of real data during cold water...

Geometrical image distortion and aberration for long-range targets in a non-homogeneous atmosphere

When images are made of distant targets over long atmospheric paths, local variations of the refractive index of the air may lead to severe optical distortions and aberrations. An extreme example of such variations is the stream of hot exhaust gases on ships. The performance of infrared and optical sensors, mounted on elevated platforms on board...

Atmospheric nitrogen inputs into the coastal ecosystem (ANICE): Description

Atmospheric nitrogen inputs into the coastal ecosystem (ANICE): Description

Lidar measurements of atmospgeric extinction during the MAPTIP trial

During the MAPTIP experiment, that was organized by NATO AC/243 (Panel 4)/RSG.8, the marine atmosphere was characterized, among others, with lidar (optical radar). The investigations were carried out both in horizontal planes (PPI scans), in vertical planes (RHI scans) and combinations of those two. In addition, the temporal variability of the...

Field test of a lidar wind profiler

Atmospheric eddies, which have slightly different properties than their environment and are believed to be transported by the wind (Taylor's hypothesis), are used as tracers for remote wind measurements with a fast incoherent lidar. Horizontal measurements, parallel with the wind, have shown that the atmospheric structures can be traced in space...

NOVAM evaluation from aerosol and lidar measurements in a tropical marine environment

NOVAM, the Naval Oceanic Vertical Aerosol Model, has been developed to predict the nonuniform and nonlogarithmic extinction profiles that are often observed in the marine atmospheric boundary layer. The kernel of NOVAM is the Navy Aerosol Model (NAM) that calculates the aerosol size distribution at 10 m ASL from meteorological parameters. The...