Remote sensing of near surface layer of the ocean for inclined angles of sight

Abstract

The system of optical devices for remote sensing of near surface layer of the ocean is created. The system consists of a set of original optical devices for recording of range – time – intensity (RTI) images of sea surface from optical sections of the sea surface and camera for the recording of the wave breakings and the sea wave spectra [1-5] by spectral analysis of the sea surface images. These RTI images enable one to receive complete information about kinematics characteristic of various manifestations on the sea surface, including sea surface waves, near surface wind flow manifestations on the sea surface, internal waves (IW) manifestations, oil slicks and so on owing to its ability to screen objects according to their velocity. The recording of wave spectra and temporal variability of the whitecap coverage performs from the photograph of sea surface synchronous with the RTI images of sea surface. A method for retrieval of sea wave’s slopes from RTI images is presented. The system of optical devices is suitable for remote sensing of sea surface from sea platform, ship or vehicle. The brightness angular structure of the cloudless sky is studied based on the model of the sunlight single scattering. These model data are compared to the experimental angular characteristics of the sky brightness obtained due to digital imaging of the horizon from the oceanographic platform. A method for determining the optical thickness of the atmosphere in three spectral ranges of light in real time from the angular height of the horizontal maximum brightness of a cloudless sky recorded with a digital camera was developed. The obtained values of optical thickness can be used in the models of angular distribution of the cloudless sky brightness to provide possibility of retrieval the waves’ statistical characteristics by the remote optical method.