Radiative Transfer in Ocean-Atmosphere Systems
Summary
Radiative transfer in the ocean–atmosphere continuum governs the propagation of solar and terrestrial radiation through air and water. In the atmosphere, absorption by gases and scattering by molecules and aerosols shape the spectral and angular distribution of incoming sunlight. At the air–sea boundary, surface roughness, waves and whitecaps influence reflection (sun glint) and transmission into the water column. Beneath the surface, absorption by water molecules and dissolved substances, together with scattering by particulates and bubbles, determine the attenuation and angular redistribution of light. Coupled atmosphere–ocean radiative transfer models integrate these processes to simulate top-of-atmosphere radiances, supporting satellite retrieval of ocean colour, aerosol loading and sea-surface temperature. Advances in hyperspectral, polarimetric and multiangular observations have refined parameterisations of gas absorption bands, aerosol phase functions and water-leaving radiance. Such improvements enhance atmospheric correction algorithms, improve detection of sub-surface features and inform estimates of air–sea gas exchange and primary productivity. The global significance of this research lies in its contribution to understanding Earth’s energy balance, monitoring marine ecosystems and validating climate models under changing environmental conditions.
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Radiative Transfer in Ocean-Atmosphere Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in radiative transfer in ocean-atmosphere systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Radiative transfer: The physical process describing absorption, scattering and emission of radiation as it travels through a medium.
Atmospheric correction: The procedure to remove atmospheric contributions (molecular and aerosol scattering, gas absorption) from satellite-measured radiance to retrieve water-leaving signals.
Water-leaving radiance: The component of light emerging from beneath the sea surface towards the sensor after interacting with water and its constituents.
Aerosol optical depth: A dimensionless measure of light extinction by aerosol particles integrated through the atmospheric column.
Bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF): A function describing how light is reflected at an interface, depending on illumination and viewing angles.
Invariant imbedding: A numerical technique that transforms boundary-value radiative transfer problems into initial-value form for efficient computation.
Sun glint: Specular reflection of sunlight off the sea surface that contaminates remote-sensing measurements of subsurface radiance.
References
- Simulating spectral images of natural waters and submerged objects from a bird’s-eye view. Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (2024).
- Automatic Suppression Method for Water Surface Glints Using a Division of Focal Plane Visible Polarimeter. Sensors (2023).
- Atmospheric correction for hyperspectral ocean color retrieval with application to the Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO). Remote Sensing of Environment (2018).
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