Radiative transfer: a technique for simulating the ocean in satellite remote sensing calculations

A method is presented for computing the radiative transfer in the ocean-atmosphere system which does not require detailed knowledge of the optical properties of the ocean. The calculation scheme is based on the observation that the upwelling radiance just beneath the sea surface is approximately uniform, which implies that the effect of the ocean can be simulated by a lambertian reflector just beneath the sea surface. It is further shown that for aerosol concentrations up to ten times the normal concentration, the radiative transfer in homogeneous and vertically stratified atmospheres (of the same optical thickness) is nearly identical. Examples indicating the applicability of these results to the remote sensing of ocean color from space are discussed in detail.