Effects of atmospheric aerosol models on the single scattering point spread function in optical remote sensing

Abstract

Light scattering by atmospheric aerosols produces blurring effects in remotely sensed images in the visible and near infrared wavelength bands. This blurring effect can be described by an effective scattering point spread function (PSF). In this paper, the single scattering PSF is derived from the radiation transfer equation assuming a plane parallel atmosphere with varying optical properties in the vertical direction. The PSF is computed for a given aerosol model and imaging geometry. The extinction coefficient, single scattering albedo and the scattering phase function are computed from the Mie theory. The effects of three different aerosol models (urban, maritime, continental) on the single scattering PSF are investigated.