REMOTE MEASUREMENT OF HAZE LAYERS OVER LAND

HAZE LAYERS APPEAR AS ANOMALOUS PATTERNS ON SATELLITE IMAGERY AND ARE VIEWED AS NOISE BYMOST RESEARCHERS. ONLY OVER OCEANS, WHERE THERE IS A CONSISTENT RADIATION BACKGROUND, HAVE EEFORTS TO MEASURE HAZE LAYERS PROVEN SUCESSFUL. THE FEW AVAILABLE POIRT MEASUREMENTS OF TURBIDITYAND AEROSOLS OF HAZE LAYERS DO NOT PROVIDE SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO DEVELOP METHODS FOR MEASURING HAZE LAYERS OVER LAND. EVAPORATION RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT THE AMOUNT OFEVAPORATION FORM WATER SURFACES EXPECTED ON CLEAR DAYS IS REDUCED WHEN HAZE LAYERS OCUR. THE AMOUNT OF REDUCTION IS RELATED TO THE INTENSITY OF THE HAZE LAYERS. THE CENTRAL VALLEY OF CALIFORNIA IS AN AREA WHERE THIS EFFECT IS VERY PRONOUNCED. PAN EVAPORATION RECORDS IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY WIIL BE USED TO INFER THE AREAL EXTENT AND DENSITY OF HAZE LAYERS. THESE ESTIMATES WILL BE USED AS SURROGATE HAZE LAYER DATA TO DEVELOP A METHOD TO USE REMOTE RADIATION MEASUREMENTS TO MEASURE HAZE LAYERS OVER THE VALLEY. AN IMAGE PROCESSING LABORATORY EQUIPPED TO INTERACTIVELY PROCESS, DISPLAY, ANALYZE, INTERPRET AND DEVELOP RELATIONS AMONG IMAGERY AND MAPPED INFORMATION WILL BE USED IN THE STUDY.