Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Colors of the daytime overcast sky

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

Time-series measurements of daylight (skylight plus direct sunlight) spectra beneath overcast skies reveal an unexpectedly wide gamut of pastel colors. Analyses of these spectra indicate that at visible wavelengths, overcasts are far from spectrally neutral transmitters of the daylight incident on their tops. Colorimetric analyses show that overcasts make daylight bluer and that the amount of bluing increases with cloud optical depth. Simulations using the radiative-transfer model MODTRAN4 help explain the observed bluing: multiple scattering within optically thick clouds greatly enhances spectrally selective absorption by water droplets. However, other factors affecting overcast colors seen from below range from minimal (cloud-top heights) to moot (surface colors).

© 2005 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Measuring overcast colors with all-sky imaging

Raymond L. Lee, Jr.
Appl. Opt. 47(34) H106-H115 (2008)

The Color of the Overcast Sky

W. E. Knowles Middleton
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 44(10) 793-798 (1954)

Twilight and daytime colors of the clear sky

Raymond L. Lee
Appl. Opt. 33(21) 4629-4638 (1994)

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Figures (20)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Tables (2)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article tables are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Equations (2)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Equations are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved