Reflectance Of Whitecaps Research Articles

Corrigendum: Hyperspectral Measurements, Parameterizations, and Atmospheric Correction of Whitecaps and Foam From Visible to Shortwave Infrared for Ocean Color Remote Sensing

In the original article, there was an error in Equation (7). The formula was published correctly in Figures 3 and 4. A correction has been made to the Results and Discussion, Subsection Model of Average Whitecap Reflectance, Equation 7 reads: R_f=0.47x^3-1.62x^2-8.66x+31.81x=log⁡(a_w )The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.

Hyperspectral Measurements, Parameterizations, and Atmospheric Correction of Whitecaps and Foam From Visible to Shortwave Infrared for Ocean Color Remote Sensing

Breaking waves are highly reflective features on the sea surface that change the spectral properties of the ocean surface in both magnitude and spectral shape. Here, hyperspectral reflectance measurements of whitecaps from 400 to 2,500 nm were taken in Long Island Sound, USA of natural and manufactured breaking waves to explore new methods to estimate whitecap contributions to ocean color imagery. Whitecap reflectance was on average ~40% in visible wavelengths and decreased significantly into the near infrared and shortwave infrared following published trends. The spectral shape was well-characterized by a third order polynomial function of liquid water absorption that can be incorporated into coupled ocean-atmospheric models and spectral optimization routines. Localized troughs in whitecap reflectance correspond to peaks in liquid water absorption and depths of the troughs are correlated to the amount and intensity of the breaking waves. Specifically, baseline-corrected band depths at 980 and 1,200 nm explained 77 and 90% of the whitecap-enhanced reflectance on a logarithmic scale, respectively. Including these wavebands into future ocean color sensors could potentially provide new tools to estimate whitecap contributions to reflectance more accurately than with wind speed. An effective whitecap factor was defined as the optical enhancements within a pixel due to whitecaps and foam independent of spatial scale. A simple mixed-pixel model of whitecap and background reflectance explained as much of the variability in measured reflectance as more complex models incorporating semi-transparent layers of foam. Using an example atmosphere, enhanced radiance from whitecaps was detectable at the top of the atmosphere and a multiple regression of at-sensor radiance at 880, 1,038, 1,250, and 1,615 nm explained 99% of the variability in whitecap factor. A proposed model of whitecap-free reflectance includes contributions from water-leaving radiance, glint, and diffuse reflected skylight. The epsilon ratio at 753 and 869 nm commonly used for aerosol model selection is nearly invariant with whitecap factor compared to the ratio at shortwave infrared bands. While more validation data is needed, this research suggests several promising avenues to retrieve estimates of the whitecap reflectance and to use ocean color to further elucidate the physics of wave breaking and gas exchange.

MISR research-aerosol-algorithm refinements for dark water retrievals

Abstract. We explore systematically the cumulative effect of many assumptions made in the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) research aerosol retrieval algorithm with the aim of quantifying the main sources of uncertainty over ocean, and correcting them to the extent possible. A total of 1129 coincident, surface-based sun photometer spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements are used for validation. Based on comparisons between these data and our baseline case (similar to the MISR standard algorithm, but without the "modified linear mixing" approximation), for 558 nm AOD < 0.10, a high bias of 0.024 is reduced by about one-third when (1) ocean surface under-light is included and the assumed whitecap reflectance at 672 nm is increased, (2) physically based adjustments in particle microphysical properties and mixtures are made, (3) an adaptive pixel selection method is used, (4) spectral reflectance uncertainty is estimated from vicarious calibration, and (5) minor radiometric calibration changes are made for the 672 and 866 nm channels. Applying (6) more stringent cloud screening (setting the maximum fraction not-clear to 0.50) brings all median spectral biases to about 0.01. When all adjustments except more stringent cloud screening are applied, and a modified acceptance criterion is used, the Root-Mean-Square-Error (RMSE) decreases for all wavelengths by 8–27% for the research algorithm relative to the baseline, and is 12–36% lower than the RMSE for the Version 22 MISR standard algorithm (SA, with no adjustments applied). At 558 nm, 87% of AOD data falls within the greater of 0.05 or 20% of validation values; 62% of the 446 nm AOD data, and > 68% of 558, 672, and 866 nm AOD values fall within the greater of 0.03 or 10%. For the Ångström exponent (ANG), 67% of 1119 validation cases for AOD > 0.01 fall within 0.275 of the sun photometer values, compared to 49% for the SA. ANG RMSE decreases by 17% compared to the SA, and the median absolute error drops by 36%.

Spectral reflectance of oceanic whitecaps in the visible and near infrared: Aircraft measurements over open ocean

The spectral reflectance of oceanic whitecaps in the visible and near infrared was derived from aircraft push‐broom radiometer observations over the open ocean near Toulon, France. Inter‐band calibration corrections were performed using spectrally white sun glint reflectance. Whitecap reflectance was found to decrease substantially with wavelength in the near infrared, in agreement with other findings in the coastal zone and the open ocean. The study supports previous conclusions regarding the consequences of neglecting the spectral dependence of whitecap reflectance in ocean color algorithms.

Spectral reflectance of whitecaps: Their contribution to water‐leaving radiance

A radiometric system, deployed from a ship, is used to measure directly the influence of the presence of breaking waves (whitecaps) on the upwelling radiance above the sea surface. Estimates of their remote sensing augmented spectral reflectance, i.e., the temporally averaged or spatially averaged increase in the ocean's reflectance over and above the reflectance in the absence of breaking waves, are provided from measurements in the tropical Pacific. The accuracy of these estimates is dependent on their ability to determine radiometrically the background reflectance of the water. In the visible the remote sensing augmented spectral reflectance of whitecaps measured in the open ocean was found to be essentially independent of wavelength and in the range 0.001–0.002 for wind speeds of 9–12 m s−1. This is in reasonably good agreement (within a factor of 2) with earlier predictions based on the statistical relationship between fractional coverage and wind speed and the estimated average reflectance of individual whitecaps. In the near infrared (860 nm) the remote sensing augmented spectral reflectance falls to ∼80% of its value in the visible.

Spectral Reflectance of Whitecaps: Instrumentation, Calibration, and Performance in Coastal Waters

A measurement system for determining the spectral reflectance of whitecaps in the open ocean is described. The upwelling radiance is obtained from a ship by observing a small region of the water surface over time using a six-channel radiometer (410, 440, 510, 550, 670, and 860 nm) extended from the bow of the ship. Downwelling irradiance is simultaneously measured and used to provide surface reflectance. The system includes a TV camera mounted beside the radiometer that provides a visual reference of surface events. Air/water temperature and wind speed/direction are also measured along with global positioning system data. Calibration procedures and radiometric characterization of the system for operation under different sky conditions and solar zenith angles are emphasized so that full advantage is taken of ship time whenever whitecap events occur. The radiometer was operated at sea and examples of the spectral reflectance of different foam types (thick foam layers to thin residual patches) generated by the ship’s bow in coastal waters are presented and found to vary spectrally. The presence of submerged bubbles in the foam measurement results in a lower reflectance at the longer wavelengths. For wavebands in the visible region, the spectral reflectance values tend to equalize with higher reflecting foam from thicker foam layers.

Influence of oceanic whitecaps on atmospheric correction of ocean-color sensors

The effects of oceanic whitecaps on ocean-color imagery are simulated and inserted into the proposed Sea-Viewing Wide-Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) atmospheric-correction algorithm to understand its tolerance to error in the estimated whitecap contribution. The results suggest that for wind speeds ≲ 10-12 m/s, present models that relate whitecap reflectance to wind speed are sufficiently accurate to meet the SeaWiFS accuracy goal for retrieval of the water-leaving radiance in the blue, when the aerosol scattering is weakly dependent on wavelength. In contrast, when the aerosol scattering has a strong spectral signature, the retrievals will meet the goal only when the whitecap reflectance is underestimated.