Introducing a mini-catamaran to perform reflectance measurements above and below the water surface

J. M. Froidefond , Sylvain Ouillon (1)

1 ECOLA - Echanges Côte-Large

An innovative platform is tested to perform reflectance measurements at sea. This platform is a mini-catamaran with two hulls 1m long and set 0.7m apart, fitted with optical sensors. It can be used far away from an oceanographic ship to avoid its hull influencing the measurement. Reflectance measurements were performed with a TriOS radiance sensor placed +2cm or -2cm from the water surface and a TriOS irradiance sensor. Tests were carried out in calm seas and with cloud cover. The processing to derive marine radiances from raw measurements is detailed. When the radiance sensor is above the interface, it limits the sky reflections on the targeted surface and the radiance is identical to that deduced from measurements below the surface. When the sensor is placed at +3cm abovewater or higher, glint affects the measurements. The mini-catamaran shows a good ability to measure marine reflectance with an adapted measurement protocol. Except for very turbid waters, it seems preferable to perform upwelling radiance measurements below the surface.

Domaines: Planète et Univers [physics]

J. M. Froidefond, Sylvain Ouillon. Introducing a mini-catamaran to perform reflectance measurements above and below the water surface. Optics Express, 2005, 13 (3), pp.926-936. ⟨10.1364/OPEX.13.000926⟩. ⟨hal-00434473⟩