A research program aimed at high altitude balloon-borne measurements of radiation emerging from the earth's atmosphere.
The relevance of polarization measurements in the near uv and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum in investigations of the effects of the atmospheric aerosol and the reflective properties of the ground, intermediate layers of the atmosphere, and the atmosphere as a whole on the ambient radiation field is discussed. The salient features of a photoelectric skylight polarimeter characterized by its adaptability to balloon-borne measurements of the degree of linear polarization and relative intensity variations in four narrow spectral intervals (bandwidth approximately 150 A) centered on lambdalambda 3270 A, 3975 A, 500 A, and 6120 A are described. Preliminary results of measurements obtained in a balloon experiment staged at Page, Arizona (36 degrees 57'N, 111 degrees 27'W, 1300 m above msl) on 30 March 1965 are presented.
Rao
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Department of Meteorology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Sekera
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