Modeling effects of terrain and illumination on visibility and the visualization of haze and aerosols

Donald W. Hoock Jr.; John C. Giever

doi:10.1117/12.177935

15 June 1994 Modeling effects of terrain and illumination on visibility and the visualization of haze and aerosols

Donald W. Hoock Jr., John C. Giever

Proceedings Volume 2223, Characterization and Propagation of Sources and Backgrounds; (1994) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.177935
Event: SPIE's International Symposium on Optical Engineering and Photonics in Aerospace Sensing, 1994, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

Visibility and visual range are well established concepts that quantify the exponential attenuation of contrast and radiance along near-horizontal paths through the atmosphere. Scene visualization, however, requires that not only the attenuation of radiance from distant objects be modeled, but also the scattering of ambient radiance into the field of view all along the viewing path. This illumination effect is most pronounced under moderate to low visibility conditions of haze or fog viewed from near-horizontal paths near the surface. It is often provided for in scene generators that implement some form of range-dependent `fog' or `haze' functions as two parameters: the `atmospheric fading coefficient' and the `atmospheric blending factor.' We examine the physical meaning of these parameters and the effects of variable illumination and terrain reflectance along the viewing path for different meteorological visibility, solar angle and aerosol conditions. The error introduced through use of the same coefficients across the visible wavelength band is compared to use of wavelength- dependent extinction and scattering. Scene generation examples are shown comparing different rendering approaches and the trade-offs in computational speed versus accuracy between hardware and software implementations.

Citation Download Citation

Donald W. Hoock Jr. and John C. Giever "Modeling effects of terrain and illumination on visibility and the visualization of haze and aerosols", Proc. SPIE 2223, Characterization and Propagation of Sources and Backgrounds, (15 June 1994); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.177935

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
12 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Visibility

Visibility through fog

Air contamination

Visualization

Aerosols

Atmospheric modeling

Visual process modeling

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years