Plans for an Airborne Multispectral Laser Imaging Polarimeter System

There has been difficulty in making effective use of the natural depolarization properties of the Earth’s surface as a parameter in land remote sensing. This arises from the problem in building a theoretical foundation upon which to interpret the data from reflected polarized solar radiation which is complicated by atmospheric effects and a diversity of viewing and phase angles. By designing an experiment that substantially eliminates the atmospheric and phase angle effects, a data base could be developed upon which theoretical models could be verified, refined, and predictions made. This is the goal of an airborne imaging polarimeter system being planned at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.