Decomposition of unpolarized emissivity

Abstract

Many satellite remote sensors perform unpolarized measurements. A systematic procedure to decompose measured unpolarized emissivity is proposed using the definition of total reflectivity and the relationship between vertically and horizontally polarized reflectivity. Two polarizations are retrieved for various view angles with mixed emissivity simulated using the refractive index of water for ultraviolet, visible, infrared and microwave wavelengths. The results indicate that the absolute bias errors are small and consistent within Brewster angles, irrespective of the wavelengths. However, the relative bias is less than 4% and 5% for vertical and horizontal polarization, respectively, for any instrument working at infrared and microwave wavelengths. The relative bias for horizontal polarization is 20–30% for ultraviolet and visible wavelengths due to small absolute reflectivity values. Consequently, the method proposed in this study is applicable to specular surfaces for various view angles without the dielectric properties of a medium being required.