Airborne Doppler lidar investigation of the wind-modulated sea-surface angular retroreflectance signature

Abstract

Concurrent measurements of sea-surface retroreflectance and associated wind velocity acquired with an airborne CO2 Doppler lidar are described. These observations provide further insight into thermal infrared optical phenomenology of air-sea interface processes, contribute to a greater understanding of radiation transfer between the atmosphere and the hydrosphere, and enable improved models of wind-driven ocean-surface stress applicable to other remote sensing applications. In particular, we present lidar measurements of azimuthally anisotropic reflectance behavior and discuss the implications to current understanding of sea-surface optical properties.