Enhancement of Digital Methods for Determination of Opacity
Abstract
Many DoD installations are subject to environmental regulations that require them to monitor opacity using EPA Reference Method 9, which relies on certified human observers. Maintaining EPA human-observer certification is expensive because each observer must attend a certification course twice annually. Furthermore, these opacity measurements are subject to potential inaccuracies and lack of reproducibility. Thus, DoD could benefit from a system that generates accurate and reproducible opacity measurements. Some methods currently exist for determining opacity digitally, and they perform well under sunny, cloudless conditions or with the use of an artificial physical background. This project developed an algorithm to determine opacity for stacks under challenging background conditions, such as trees. The algorithm is based on the principles of light attenuation and uses a stereo approach, in which a user takes two pictures: one of the plume and one of the background behind the plume. This method performed well for black plumes and for white plumes (opacity < 85%).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 21, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA603728
Entities
People
- David M. Weinstein
- Jennifer Desha
- Joann S. Lighty
- Kerry E. Kelly
- Ross T. Whitaker
Organizations
- University of Utah