Adaptive Detection Algorithm for Hazardous Clouds Based on Infrared Remote Sensing Spectroscopy and the LASSO Method

Longwave infrared (LWIR) spectroscopy is useful for detecting and identifying hazardous clouds by passive remote sensing technology. Gaseous constituents are usually assumed to be thin plumes in a three-layer model, from which the spectral signatures are linearly superimposed on the brightness temperature spectrum. However, the thin-plume model performs poorly in cases of thick clouds. A modification to this method is made using synthetic references as target spectra, which allow linear models to be used for thick clouds. The prior background, which is generally unknown in most applications, is reconstructed through a regression method using predefined references. However, large residuals caused by fitting errors may distort the extracted spectral signatures and identification results if the predefined references are not consistent with the real spectral shapes. A group of references are generated to represent the possible spectral shapes, and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method is used to select the most appropriate reference for spectral fitting. Small residuals and adaptive identification are achieved by automatically selecting the reference spectrum. Two experiments are performed to verify the algorithm proposed in this article. Ethylene is adaptively detected during an indoor release process, and the spectral shape varies with the amount released. In addition, ammonia is measured under different humidity conditions, and the background is adaptively removed using the LASSO method. Based on this research, LWIR remote sensing technology can be applied in various target-detection scenarios, and adaptive identification is achieved to promote hazardous cloud detection.