Standoff midwave infrared hyperspectral imaging of ship plumes

Characterization of ship plumes is very challenging due to the great variety of ships, fuel and the extent of a gas plume. In this work, imaging of ship plumes from an operating ferry boat was carried out using standoff midwave (3-5 μm) infrared hyperspectral imaging. Quantitative chemical imaging of combustion gases was achieved by fitting a radiative transfer model. Combustion efficiency maps were derived from the column density values. The results illustrate how valuable information about the combustion process of a ship engine can be successfully obtained using passive hyperspectral remote sensing imaging.