Estimation of adjacent effects in polarization measurements over the coastal zone

Abstract

The polarization over the coastal zone observed by the airborne POLDER simulator, which was developed by CNES, France, is analyzed. It is shown that at the wavelength /spl lambda/=850 nm, the polarization degrees over the coastal zone become smaller than those over the sea surface at a long distance from the land, while at /spl lambda/=450 nm the polarization pattern over the coastal zone is almost the same as that over the sea surface distant from the land. In this study, the adjacency effect influence on polarization measurements is evaluated by using a single scattering radiative transfer model. As a result, it is found that at /spl lambda/=850 nm, as adjacent effects arising from the radiation reflected by the land surface are more significant, the degree of polarization over the sea surface becomes smaller.