Cloud Determination of All-Sky Images under Low-Visibility Conditions

The threshold method is commonly used to determine cloud in a sky image. This paper evaluates the method by numerical simulation and shows that the aerosol optical depth (AOD) is a key factor that influences the accuracy. Particularly when the visibility is low, a single threshold method is inappropriate. To improve the accuracy of cloud determination from low-visibility sky images, an integrated cloud-determination algorithm is presented that is based on the fast Fourier transform, symmetrical image features, and threshold methods. The preliminary comparison tests show that the new integrated method improves the ability to determine cloud under lower-visibility conditions.