Atmospheric correction over the ocean for hyperspectral radiometers using multi-angle polarimetric retrievals

Area of Science:

• Earth and Planetary Sciences
• Remote Sensing
• Atmospheric Science

Background:

• Hyperspectral remote sensing requires accurate atmospheric correction to retrieve surface reflectance.
• Traditional algorithms struggle with complex atmospheric conditions like absorbing aerosols and coastal waters.
• Multi-wavelength multi-angle polarimetry offers detailed aerosol property information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a fast and accurate polynomial-based atmospheric correction (POLYAC) algorithm.
• To utilize aerosol properties from multi-wavelength multi-angle polarimeter (MAP) measurements for improved atmospheric correction.
• To assess the performance of POLYAC for hyperspectral radiometric measurements in challenging environments.

Main Methods:

• Developed the POLYAC algorithm, parameterizing atmospheric path radiances with aerosol properties from MAP measurements.
• Applied POLYAC to Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration (SPEX) airborne and Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) data.
• Validated hyperspectral remote sensing reflectance against AERONET and VIIRS ocean color products.

Main Results:

• POLYAC demonstrated high accuracy in retrieving hyperspectral remote sensing reflectance.
• The algorithm successfully processed data from SPEX airborne (hyperspectral radiometer proxy) and RSP (MAP).
• POLYAC results showed strong agreement with established AERONET and VIIRS ocean color products.

Conclusions:

• POLYAC is a robust and accurate atmospheric correction method for hyperspectral and multi-spectral radiometric measurements.
• The algorithm is particularly effective for coastal oceans and scenes with absorbing aerosols.
• POLYAC offers a reliable alternative to traditional methods in challenging remote sensing scenarios.