Analysis of ocean color spectra (II)

A method for evaluating the radiance due to sky light reflected by the sea surface and radiance emerging from the sea is described. The calculation is made as a function of the sun altitude, sky condition and sea state for varying optical properties of sea water. As a result of the contribution of reflected sky light, the shape of the spectral distribution for radiance just below the surface is considerably distorted above the surface, especially when chlorophyll concentrations are high. Special attention is paid to the ratio of radiance emerging from the sea to total upwelling radiance at the wavelength of 670 nrn. The variation in the ratio with wind-speed is small and the ratio decreases with increase in the atomospheric turbidity factor.