Whole Sky Imager Characterization of Sky Obscuration by Clouds for the Starfire Optical Range
Abstract
This report summarizes work conducted for the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) at Kirtland Air Force Base on contract FA9451-08-C-0226 by the Atmospheric Optics Group of the Marine Physical Laboratory at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego. The primary goal of this project was to gather a multi-site data base of cloud distribution over the whole sky, in order to study the effect of sky obscuration by clouds. There are numerous applications that require looking either up or down through the cloud deck, including satellite tracking, detecting ground targets from the air, and so on. For many of these applications, it would be useful to have a large high quality data base with which we could study questions such as: how often do clouds block the line of sight; how persistent is the blockage; how well do models based on satellite imagery truly represent the impact of clouds; how often does the satellite imagery detect small or very thin clouds and what is their impact; and so on.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 11, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA556222
Entities
People
- Art R. Burden
- Jacob R. Streeter
- Janet E. Shields
- Monette E. Karr
- Richard W. Johnson
- Vincent W. Mikuls
- William Hodgkiss
Organizations
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography