Abstract
We examined the effect of individual bubble clouds on remote-sensing reflectance of the ocean with a 3-D Monte Carlo model of radiative transfer. The concentrations and size distribution of bubbles were defined based on acoustical measurements of bubbles in the surface ocean. The light scattering properties of bubbles for various void fractions were calculated using Mie scattering theory. We show how the spatial pattern, magnitude, and spectral behavior of remote-sensing reflectance produced by modeled bubble clouds change due to variations in their geometric and optical properties as well as the background optical properties of the ambient water. We also determined that for realistic sizes of bubble clouds, a plane-parallel horizontally homogeneous geometry (1-D radiative transfer model) is inadequate for modeling water-leaving radiance above the cloud.
Highlights
The optical scattering within the near-surface layer of the ocean can be largely determined by air bubbles entrained by surface wave breaking [1,2]
We examined the effect of individual bubble clouds on remotesensing reflectance of the ocean with a 3-D Monte Carlo model of radiative transfer
The complexity of the optical effects of bubble clouds and their potential significance for remote sensing justify further research
Summary
The optical scattering within the near-surface layer of the ocean can be largely determined by air bubbles entrained by surface wave breaking [1,2]. Whereas current satellite ocean color sensors have a spatial resolution of the order of 0.1 - 1 km, airborne sensors often provide measurements with a higher resolution, comparable to the spatial extent of individual bubble clouds of the order of several to tens of meters and spacebased sensors may soon provide similar spatial resolution. Even for the current satellite sensors, sub-pixel variability due to bubble clouds may influence the measurement of pixelaverage water-leaving radiance. The primary objective of this paper is to use 3-D Monte Carlo simulations of radiative transfer to provide preliminary insights into the variability of remotesensing reflectance (RSR) just above the sea surface over “idealized” three-dimensional individual bubble clouds present in the near-surface ocean due to wave breaking
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