Polarization: A Key to an Airborne Optical System for the Detection of Oil on Water

Skylight polarization, which varies with the position of the sun in the sky, influences the contrast of oil on water. Good contrast is most consistently obtained by viewing in azimuth directions toward or away from the sun. Contrast is enhanced by imaging selected polarization components and by taki...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inScience (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 180; no. 4091; pp. 1170 - 1171
Main Authors Millard, John P., Arvesen, John C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published American Association for the Advancement of Science 15.06.1973
Subjects
Azimuth
Oil spills
Optical reflection
Reflectance
Specular reflection
Sunlight
Water pollution
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Summary:Skylight polarization, which varies with the position of the sun in the sky, influences the contrast of oil on water. Good contrast is most consistently obtained by viewing in azimuth directions toward or away from the sun. Contrast is enhanced by imaging selected polarization components and by taking the difference between orthogonal polarization components.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
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ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.180.4091.1170