Fred Moshary

Polarized light in coastal waters: hyperspectral and multiangular analysis.

Measurements of the underwater polarized light field were performed at different stations, atmospheric conditions and water compositions using a newly developed hyperspectral and multiangular polarimeter during a recent cruise in the coastal areas of New York Harbor - Sandy Hook, NJ region (USA). Results are presented for waters with chlorophyll concentrations 1.3-4.8 microg/l and minerals concentrations 2.0- 3.9 mg/l. Angular and spectral variations of the degree of polarization are found to be consistent with theory. Maximum values of the degree of polarization do not exceed 0.4 and the position of the maximum is close to 100 masculine scattering angle. Normalized radiances and degrees of polarization are compared with simulated ones obtained with a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code for the atmosphere-ocean system and show satisfactory agreement.

Lidar application to monitoring emissions and transport of particulate pollution in urban environments with high temporal and spatial resolution

Attainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standard-NAAQS for exposure limits to air pollutants is of great concern to State and Local agencies and communities in the United State because of potential health impacts. This is particularly important and challenging in urban areas because of high population densities and complex terrain. Exceedances of NAAQS requires states to develop implementation plans to address them and as such, studying the horizontal and vertical distribution and mixing of pollutants is key to understanding their transport and evolution. In this study, vertical and scanning horizontal lidar measurements together with in situ observations from particulate matter and trace gas analyzers from state air quality networks are used to shed light on mechanisms that impact movement of aerosol, including emissions from power generating stations at periods of high electricity demand.

Active standoff mixing-ratio measurements of N2O from topographic targets using an open-path quantum cascade laser system

Active stand-off detection and hard-target lidars are common methodologies for gas identification, chemical emission tracing, hazardous material sensing, or explosive detection to name a few. By their nature, this type of instrument heavily relies on the reflectivity or backscattering properties of distant targets. While some applications allow the use of retroreflectors, most mobile systems require the use of actual topographic targets, such as the ground, roads, buildings, roofs, or vegetation. In this work, N2O path-averaged mixing ratios are measured with the 10 Hz frequency using a quantum cascade laser open path system operating at 7.7 μm wavelength. Measurements are performed by detecting the light backscattered from common topographic targets located 5.5 m away from the instrument. For each topographic target, the detection limit and accuracy of the retrieved mixing ratios are presented and discussed showing detection limits between 0.008 and 1.36 ppm depending on the target and mixing ratio relative errors between 4 and 80 %.

Applications of synergistic combination of remote sensing and in-situ measurements on urban monitoring of air quality

In this study, multiple remote sensing and in-situ measurements are combined in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the aerosol distribution in New York City. Measurement of the horizontal distribution of aerosols is performed using a scanning eye-safe elastic-backscatter micro-pulse lidar. Vertical distribution of aerosols is measured with a co-located ceilometer. Furthermore, our analysis also includes in-situ measurements of particulate matter and wind speed and direction. These observations combined show boundary layer dynamics as well as transport and inhomogeneous spatial distribution of aerosols, which are of importance for air quality monitoring.