Remote-sensing reflectance determinations in the coastal ocean environment: impact of instrumental characteristics and environmental variability

Three independent ocean color sampling methodologies are compared to assess the potential impact of instrumental characteristics and environmental variability on shipboard remote-sensing reflectance observations from the Santa Barbara Channel, California. Results indicate that under typical field conditions, simultaneous determinations of incident irradiance can vary by 9-18%, upwelling radiance just above the sea surface by 8-18%, and remote-sensing reflectance by 12-24%. Variations in radiometric determinations can be attributed to a variety of environmental factors such as Sun angle, cloud cover, wind speed, and viewing geometry; however, wind speed is isolated as the major source of uncertainty. The above-water approach to estimating water-leaving radiance and remote-sensing reflectance is highly influenced by environmental factors. A model of the role of wind on the reflected sky radiance measured by an above-water sensor illustrates that, for clear-sky conditions and wind speeds greater than 5 m/s, determinations of water-leaving radiance at 490 nm are undercorrected by as much as 60%. A data merging procedure is presented to provide sky radiance correction parameters for above-water remote-sensing reflectance estimates. The merging results are consistent with statistical and model findings and highlight the importance of multiple field measurements in developing quality coastal oceanographic data sets for satellite ocean color algorithm development and validation.     

Remote sensing of aerosol plumes: a semianalytical model

A semianalytical model, named APOM (aerosol plume optical model) and predicting the radiative effects of aerosol plumes in the spectral range [0.4,2.5 microm], is presented in the case of nadir viewing. It is devoted to the analysis of plumes arising from single strong emission events (high optical depths) such as fires or industrial discharges. The scene is represented by a standard atmosphere (molecules and natural aerosols) on which a plume layer is added at the bottom. The estimated at-sensor reflectance depends on the atmosphere without plume, the solar zenith angle, the plume optical properties (optical depth, single-scattering albedo, and asymmetry parameter), the ground reflectance, and the wavelength. Its mathematical expression as well as its numerical coefficients are derived from MODTRAN4 radiative transfer simulations. The DISORT option is used with 16 fluxes to provide a sufficiently accurate calculation of multiple scattering effects that are important for dense smokes. Model accuracy is assessed by using a set of simulations performed in the case of biomass burning and industrial plumes. APOM proves to be accurate and robust for solar zenith angles between 0 degrees and 60 degrees whatever the sensor altitude, the standard atmosphere, for plume phase functions defined from urban and rural models, and for plume locations that extend from the ground to a height below 3 km. The modeling errors in the at-sensor reflectance are on average below 0.002. They can reach values of 0.01 but correspond to low relative errors then (below 3% on average). This model can be used for forward modeling (quick simulations of multi/hyperspectral images and help in sensor design) as well as for the retrieval of the plume optical properties from remotely sensed images.     

Reduction of skylight reflection effects in the above-water measurement of diffuse marine reflectance

Reflected skylight in above-water measurements of diffuse marine reflectance can be reduced substantially by viewing the surface through an analyzer transmitting the vertically polarized component of incident radiance. For maximum reduction of effects, radiometric measurements should be made at a viewing zenith angle of ~45 degrees (near the Brewster angle) and a relative azimuth angle between solar and viewing directions greater than 90 degrees (backscattering), preferably 135 degrees . In this case the residual reflected skylight in the polarized signal exhibits minimum sensitivity to the sea state and can be corrected to within a few 10(-4) in reflectance units. For most oceanic waters the resulting relative error on the diffuse marine reflectance in the blue and green is less than 1%. Since the water body polarizes incident skylight, the measured polarized reflectance differs from the total reflectance. The difference, however, is small for the considered geometry. Measurements made at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography pier in La Jolla, Calif., with a specifically designed scanning polarization radiometer, confirm the theoretical findings and demonstrate the usefulness of polarization radiometry for measuring diffuse marine reflectance.     

Effect of atmospheric radiance errors in radiometric sea-surface skin temperature measurements

Errors in measurements of sea-surface skin temperature (SSST) caused by inappropriate measurements of sky radiance are discussed; both model simulations and in situ data obtained in the Atlantic Ocean are used. These errors are typically caused by incorrect radiometer view geometry (pointing), temporal mismatches between the sea surface and atmospheric views, and the effect of wind on the sea surface. For clear-sky, overcast, or high-humidity atmospheric conditions, SSST is relatively insensitive (<0.1 K) to sky-pointing errors of ?10 degrees and to temporal mismatches between the sea and sky views. In mixed-cloud conditions, SSST errors greater than ?0.25 K are possible as a result either of poor radiometer pointing or of a temporal mismatch between the sea and sky views. Sea-surface emissivity also changes with sea view pointing angle. Sea view pointing errors should remain below 5 degrees for SSST errors of <0.1 K. We conclude that the clear-sky requirement of satellite infrared SSST observations means that sky-pointing errors are small when one is obtaining in situ SSST validation data at zenith angles of <40 degrees . At zenith angles greater than this, large errors are possible in high-wind-speed conditions. We recommend that high-resolution inclinometer measurements always be used, together with regular alternating sea and sky views, and that the temporal mismatch between sea and sky views be as small as possible. These results have important implications for the development of operational autonomous instruments for determining SSST for the long-term validation of satellite SSST.     

Underwater light polarization and radiance fluctuations induced by surface waves

The underwater light field is an ever-changing environment. Surface waves induce variability in the radiance and the light's polarization. We examined the dependence of the polarization fluctuations associated with diffuse light (not including contribution from direct skylight) on the viewing zenith angle (30 degrees, 70 degrees, and 90 degrees), solar zenith angle (23 degrees -72 degrees), depth of 0.5-3 m, and light wavelength (380-650 nm) while observing within the azimuthal plane in the wind-wave direction. Polarization and radiance fluctuated with time. Light variability (presented by the coefficient of variation calculated over a series of fluctuations in the radiance and percent polarization, and by the standard deviation calculated over a series of fluctuations in the e-vector orientation) was highest at a viewing zenith angle of 70 degrees , depended positively on the solar zenith angle, and decreased with depth at viewing zenith angles of 30 degrees and 70 degrees . Additionally, the variability of the percent polarization was significantly higher than that of the radiance. The temporal light fluctuations offer possibilities, such as enhancing the detection of transparent and reflecting objects; however, they set constraints on the optimal underwater polarization vision by both animals and by the use of instruments.     

Rotational Raman scattering (Ring effect) in satellite backscatter ultraviolet measurements

A detailed radiative transfer calculation has been carried out to estimate the effects of rotational Raman scattering (RRS) on satellite measurements of backscattered ultraviolet radiation. Raman-scattered light is shifted in frequency from the incident light, which causes filling in of solar Fraunhofer lines in the observed backscattered spectrum (also known as the Ring effect). The magnitude of the rotational Raman scattering filling in is a function of wavelength, solar zenith angle, surface reflectance, surface pressure, and instrument spectral resolution. The filling in predicted by our model is found to be in agreement with observations from the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer and the Nimbus-7 Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer.     

Filling in of Fraunhofer and gas-absorption lines in sky spectra as caused by rotational Raman scattering

A line-by-line radiative-transfer model to quantify the Ring effect as caused by rotational Raman scattering has been developed for the 310-550-nm spectral interval. The solar zenith angle and the resolution are key input parameters, as is the sky spectrum (excluding inelastic atmospheric scattering), which was modeled with modtran 3.5. The filling in is modeled for ground-based viewing geometry and includes surface reflection and single inelastic scattering. It is shown that O(2) contributes half of the filling in of N(2). A strong inverse relationship with wavelength is noted in the filling in. A comparison with observations shows moderate agreement. The largest filling in occurs in the Ca ii K and H lines.     

Instrument to measure the bidirectional reflectance distribution function of surfaces

A new instrument to measure the in situ bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of surfaces is described. This instrument measures the BRDF for eight illumination angles from 0 to 65 deg, three colors (475, 570, and 658 nm), and at over 100 selected viewing angles. The viewing zenith angles range from 5 to 65 deg, and the azimuth angles, relative to the illumination direction, range from 0 to ?180 deg. Many tests of the system have been run and show that for flat surfaces the BRDF of a sample surface can be measured with a precision of 1-5% and an accuracy of 10% of the measured reflectance. The BRDF for a dry and wet sand sample is presented as a demonstration of the instrument.     

Effects of the El Chichon volcanic cloud in the stratosphere on the intensity of light from the sky

This is the second of two papers dealing with the effects of volcanic debris from the eruption of El Chichon on light from the sunlit sky. The polarization of skylight was considered in the first of the two, whereas this one is devoted to skylight intensity. It is shown here that the magnitude of the skylight intensity is modified very significantly from its clear sky value by the volcanic cloud, as is its change with solar depression angle during twilight and its distribution over the sky during the day. Emphasis is on measurements at a wavelength of 0.07 microm. Generally the volcanic cloud produces a diminution of zenith intensity during twilight with a considerable enhancement of intensity over the sky throughout the main part of the day. The solar aureole is not as sharp as it is in normally clear conditions, but the volcanic cloud causes a very diffuse type of aureole which covers a large portion of the sky. The preferential scattering of the longer wavelengths of sunlight, which is made evident by brilliant red and yellow colors in the sunrise period, causes a pronounced change of longwave/shortwave color ratios during twilight from their values in clear atmospheric conditions. The combination of intensity data shown here with polarization data in the previous paper should give a relatively complete picture of the effects of volcanic debris on solar radiation in the atmosphere and be useful in the verification of radiative transfer models of atmospheric turbidity.     

Calibration and data elaboration procedure for sky irradiance measurements

The problems encountered in the elaboration of measurements of direct and sky diffuse solar irradiance are the following: (1) to carry out the calibration for the direct irradiance, which consists in determining the direct irradiance at the upper limit of the atmosphere; (2) to carry out the calibration for the diffuse irradiance, which consists in determining the solid viewing angle of the sky radiometer; (3) to determine the input parameters, namely, ground albedo, real and imaginary parts of the aerosol refractive index, and aerosol radius range; and (4) to determine from the optical data the columnar aerosol optical depth and volume radius distribution. With experimental data and numerical simulations a procedure is shown that enables one to carry out the two calibrations needed for the sky radiometer, to determine a best estimate of the input parameters, and, finally, to obtain the average features of the atmospheric aerosols. An interesting finding is that inversion of only data of diffuse irradiance yields the same accuracy of result as data of both diffuse and direct irradiance; in this case, only calibration of the solid viewing angle of the sky radiometer is needed, thus shortening the elaboration procedure. Measurements were carried out in the Western Mediterranean Sea (Italy), in Tokyo (Japan), and in Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina); data were elaborated with a new software package, the Skyrad code, based on an efficient radiative transfer scheme.     

Apparent Optical Properties of the Sea Illuminated by Sun and Sky: case of the optically Deep Sea

The influence of illumination by direct sunlight and the diffuse light of the sky on the apparent optical properties of seawater are studied. This study is based on the earlier self-consistent approach for solution of the radiative transfer equation. The resulting set of equations couples diffuse reflectance and diffuse attenuation coefficients and other apparent optical properties of the sea with inherent optical properties of seawater and parameters of illumination by the Sun and the sky. The resulting equations in their general form are valid for any possible values of absorption and backscattering coefficients.     

Importance and estimation of aerosol vertical structure in satellite ocean-color remote sensing

The vertical distribution of absorbing aerosols affects the reflectance of the ocean-atmosphere system. The effect, due to the coupling between molecular scattering and aerosol absorption, is important in the visible, especially in the blue, where molecular scattering is effective, and becomes negligible in the near infrared. It increases with increasing Sun and view zenith angles and aerosol optical thickness and with decreasing scattering albedo but is practically independent of wind speed. Relative differences between the top of the atmosphere reflectance simulated with distinct vertical distributions may reach approximately 10% or even 20%, depending on aerosol absorption. In atmospheric correction algorithms, the differences are directly translated into errors on the retrieved water reflectance. These errors may reach values well above the 5x10(-4) requirement in the blue, even for small aerosol optical thickness, preventing accurate retrieval of chlorophyll-a [Chl-a] concentration. Estimating aerosol scale height or altitude from measurements in the oxygen A band, possible with the polarization and directionality of the Earth's reflectance instrument and medium resolution imaging spectrometer, is expected to improve significantly the accuracy of the water reflectance retrievals and yield acceptable [Chl-a] concentration estimates in the presence of absorbing aerosols.     

Effects of cosine error in irradiance measurements from field ocean color radiometers

The cosine error of in situ seven-channel radiometers designed to measure the in-air downward irradiance for ocean color applications was investigated in the 412-683 nm spectral range with a sample of three instruments. The interchannel variability of cosine errors showed values generally lower than +/-3% below 50 degrees incidence angle with extreme values of approximately 4-20% (absolute) at 50-80 degrees for the channels at 412 and 443 nm. The intrachannel variability, estimated from the standard deviation of the cosine errors of different sensors for each center wavelength, displayed values generally lower than 2% for incidence angles up to 50 degrees and occasionally increasing up to 6% at 80 degrees. Simulations of total downward irradiance measurements, accounting for average angular responses of the investigated radiometers, were made with an accurate radiative transfer code. The estimated errors showed a significant dependence on wavelength, sun zenith, and aerosol optical thickness. For a clear sky maritime atmosphere, these errors displayed values spectrally varying and generally within +/-3%, with extreme values of approximately 4-10% (absolute) at 40-80 degrees sun zenith for the channels at 412 and 443 nm. Schemes for minimizing the cosine errors have also been proposed and discussed.     

Effect of topography on average surface albedo in the ultraviolet wavelength range

The reflectivity of the 22 km x 24 km region surrounding Sonnblick Observatory near Salzburg, Austria (3104-m altitude, 47.05 degrees N, 12.95 degrees E), was calculated with a three-dimensional albedo model. The average albedo of the region was calculated at 305 and 380 nm for different solar zenith angles, ground reflectances, and solar azimuth angles. To determine geometrical effects, we first carried out the simulations without taking account of the effects of the atmosphere. The ratio to the reflectivity of a corresponding flat surface area (area with the same ground characteristics) was always less than 1 and showed a decrease with increasing solar zenith angle and with diminishing ground reflectance. Even when the ground reflectance was 100%, the average albedo was less than 1. The effect of the atmosphere was then taken into consideration in these calculations and was found to diminish the reflected components. This diminishing effect was compensated for, however, by the scattered irradiance. Finally, simulations of real conditions (nonhomogeneous ground reflectivities) were performed for different snow lines in the Sonnblick region. The average albedos obtained when all the surroundings were covered with snow were 0.32-0.63 with low solar zenith angles and 0.38-0.77 with a 40 degrees solar zenith angle.     

SIMBAD: a field radiometer for satellite ocean-color validation

A hand-held radiometer, called SIMBAD, has been designed and built specifically for evaluating satellite-derived ocean color. It provides information on the basic ocean-color variables, namely aerosol optical thickness and marine reflectance, in five spectral bands centered at 443, 490, 560, 670, and 870 nm. Aerosol optical thickness is obtained by viewing the Sun disk and measuring the direct atmospheric transmittance. Marine reflectance is obtained by viewing the ocean surface and measuring the upwelling radiance through a vertical polarizer in a geometry that minimizes glitter and reflected sky radiation, i.e., at 45 degrees from nadir (near the Brewster angle) and at 135 degrees in azimuth from the Sun's principal plane. Relative inaccuracy on marine reflectance, established theoretically, is approximately 6% at 443 and 490 nm, 8% at 560 nm, and 23% at 670 nm for case 1 waters containing 0.1 mg m(-3) of chlorophyll a. Measurements by SIMBAD and other instruments during the Second Aerosol Characterization Experiment, the Aerosols-99 Experiment, and the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations cruises agree within uncertainties. The radiometer is compact, light, and easy to operate at sea. The measurement protocol is simple, allowing en route measurements from ships of opportunity (research vessels and merchant ships) traveling the world's oceans.     

Method for high-accuracy reflectance measurements in the 2.5-microm region

Reflectance measurement with spectroradiometers in the solar wavelength region (0.4-2.5 microm) are frequently conducted in the laboratory or in the field to characterize surface materials of artificial and natural targets. The spectral surface reflectance is calculated as the ratio of the signals obtained over the target surface and a reference panel, yielding a relative reflectance value. If the reflectance of the reference panel is known, the absolute target reflectance can be computed. This standard measurement technique assumes that the signal at the radiometer is due completely to reflected target and reference radiation. However, for field measurements in the 2.4-2.5-microm region with the Sun as the illumination source, the emitted thermal radiation is not a negligible part of the signal even at ambient temperatures, because the atmospheric transmittance, and thus the solar illumination level, is small in the atmospheric absorption regions. A new method is proposed that calculates reflectance values in the 2.4-2.5-microm region while it accounts for the reference panel reflectance and the emitted radiation. This technique needs instruments with noise-equivalent radiances of 2 orders of magnitude below currently commercially available instruments and requires measurement of the surface temperatures of target and reference. If the reference panel reflectance and temperature effects are neglected, the standard method yields reflectance errors up to 0.08 and 0.15 units for 7- and 2-nm bandwidth instruments, respectively. For the new method the corresponding errors can be reduced to approximately 0.01 units for the surface temperature range of 20-35 degrees C.     

Model of remote-sensing reflectance including bidirectional effects for case 1 and case 2 waters

A remote-sensing reflectance model based on a lookup table is proposed for use in analyzing satellite ocean color data in both case 1 and case 2 waters. The model coefficients are tabulated for grid values of three angles--solar zenith, sensor zenith, and relative azimuth--to take account of directional variation. This model also requires, as input, a phase function parameter defined by the contribution of suspended particles to the backscattering coefficient. The model is generated from radiative transfer simulations for a wide range of inherent optical properties that cover both case 1 and 2 waters. The model uncertainty that is due to phase function variability is significantly reduced from that in conventional models. Bidirectional variation of reflectance is described and explained for a variety of cases. The effects of wind speed and cloud cover on bidirectional variation are also considered, including those for the fully overcast case in which angular variation can still be considerable (approximately 10%). The implications for seaborne validation of satellite-derived water-leaving reflectance are discussed.     

Crepuscular rays: laboratory experiments and simulations

Model simulations of laboratory-generated and natural crepuscular rays are presented. Rays are created in the laboratory with parallel light beams that pass through artificial fogs and milk-water solutions. Light scattered by 90° in a dilute mixture of whole milk first increases in intensity with distance from the source to a maximum as a result of multiple scattering by mainly small angles before decreasing exponentially due to extinction as distance continues to increase. Crepuscular rays are simulated for three cloud configurations. In case 1, the Sun at the zenith is blocked by a cloud with an overhanging anvil. The rays appear white against blue sky and are brightest when atmospheric turbidity, β≈11. Shading by the anvil separates maximum brightness from apparent cloud edge. In case 2, a ray passes through a rectangular gap in a cloud layer. The ray is faint blue in a molecular atmosphere but turns pale yellow as β and solar zenith angle, φ(sun), increase. At φ(sun)=60° it appears most striking when the cloud is optically thick, β≈5, and the beam width Δx≈1000 m. In these cases, increasing aerosol radius, r(aer), to about 1000 nm brightens, narrows, and shortens rays. In case 3, the twilight Sun is shaded by a towering cloud or mountain. The shaded rays are deeper blue than the sunlit sky because the light originates higher in the atmosphere, where short waves have suffered less depletion from scattering. The long optical path taken by sunlight at twilight makes color and lighting contrasts of the rays greatest when the air is quite clean, i.e., for β-1?1. In all cases, the brightest rays occur when sunlight passes through an optical thickness of atmosphere, τ≈O(1).     

Systematic errors inherent in the current modeling of the reflected downward flux term used by remote sensing models

An underlying assumption of satellite data assimilation systems is that the radiative transfer model used to simulate observed satellite radiances has no errors. For practical reasons a fast-forward radiative transfer model is used instead of a highly accurate line-by-line model. The fast model usually replaces the spectral integration of spectral quantities with their monochromatic equivalents, and the errors due to these approximations are assumed to be negligible. The reflected downward flux term contains many approximations of this nature, which are shown to introduce systematic errors. In addition, many fast-forward radiative transfer models simulate the downward flux as the downward radiance along a path defined by the secant of the mean emergent angle, the diffusivity factor. The diffusivity factor is commonly set to 1.66 or to the secant of the satellite zenith angle. Neither case takes into account that the diffusivity factor varies with optical depth, which introduces further errors. I review the two most commonly used methods for simulating reflected downward flux by fast-forward radiative transfer models and point out their inadequacies and limitations. An alternate method of simulating the reflected downward flux is proposed. This method transforms the surface-to-satellite transmittance profile to a transmittance profile suitable for simulating the reflected downward flux by raising the former transmittance to the power of kappa, where kappa itself is a function of channel, surface pressure, and satellite zenith angle. It is demonstrated that this method reduces the fast-forward model error for low to moderate reflectivities.     

Analytical solution of radiative transfer in the coupled atmosphere-ocean system with a rough surface

Using the computationally efficient discrete-ordinate method, we present an analytical solution for radiative transfer in the coupled atmosphere-ocean system with a rough air-water interface. The theoretical formulations of the radiative transfer equation and solution are described. The effects of surface roughness on the radiation field in the atmosphere and ocean are studied and compared with satellite and surface measurements. The results show that ocean surface roughness has significant effects on the upwelling radiation in the atmosphere and the downwelling radiation in the ocean. As wind speed increases, the angular domain of sunglint broadens, the surface albedo decreases, and the transmission to the ocean increases. The downward radiance field in the upper ocean is highly anisotropic, but this anisotropy decreases rapidly as surface wind increases and as ocean depth increases. The effects of surface roughness on radiation also depend greatly on both wavelength and angle of incidence (i.e., solar elevation); these effects are significantly smaller throughout the spectrum at high Sun. The model-observation discrepancies may indicate that the Cox-Munk surface roughness model is not sufficient for high wind conditions.