Radiance of the Ocean Horizon

Abstract

Cox and Munk (1954) proposed that the fluctuating surface of the open ocean could be accurately represented by many small mirror-like facets, each of which is randomly tilted with respect to the local horizon. Through aerial photographs of sun glint, they determined the statistical distribution of capillary wave slopes as a function of wind velocity. However, when their equation connecting the slope distribution with sun glint is used on the horizon, an infinite glint is predicted even though it can easily be shown that sun glint should never exceed solar radiance. The objective of this report is to remove the infinite horizon radiance from the Cox-Munk model of the ocean surface. Radiance, Sun glints, Wind speed, Reflection

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1994
Accession Number
ADA285613

Entities

People

  • C. R. Zeisse

Organizations

  • Naval Command, Control and Ocean Surveillance Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Photographs
  • Angle Of Incidence
  • Capillary Waves
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Elevation
  • Equations
  • Geometry
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Oceans
  • Photographs
  • Photography
  • Sea Water
  • Two Dimensional
  • Wind
  • Wind Velocity

Readers

  • Atmospheric Remote Sensing.
  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.