Measurements of the vertical radiance profile using infrared sensors

Measurements of the spectral radiance of the sky and the sea, taken near Halifax during the September 2001 SIMVEX trial, indicated that the use of user defined atmospheric profiles, i.e. high altitude atmospheric contributions, were necessary in order to obtain agreement between measurements and results from simulations using atmospheric radiance codes. This paper analyzes data obtained under hot and humid conditions during the SAPPHIRE trial at Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA, in the summer of 2006. Digital recordings of the sea and sky background were made using cameras sensitive in both the 3 - 5 μm and 8 - 12 μm wavelength range. The center of the field of view of the cameras was pitched from -5 to +15 degrees. In parallel with the imaging experiments, spectrometric data was collected at the same time. In addition, many different types of meteorological data were collected. Measurements of the vertical radiance profile near the horizon will be compared with simulation results from ShipIR using various meteorological input parameters.