Measurements of Wave-Induced Fluctuations in Underwater Radiance under Various Surface Boundary Conditions

The principal objective of our project is to measure wave-induced fluctuations in underwater light field under various sea-surface boundary conditions. The specific objectives include the characterization of wave-induced fluctuations in downwelling irradiance and radiance as a function of various environmental parameters such as wind/wave conditions, sky radiance distribution, direction of radiance observation, depth of observation, and water optical properties. Because of the complexity of the problem and multiplicity of factors affecting the light field fluctuations, achieving a comprehensive characterization of all these effects is unrealistic within the timeframe of the RaDyO program. Our study will focus on selected problems and environmental factors as the project progresses throughout the phase of main field experiments. The central theme of our study is to characterize light fluctuations at shallow depths caused by surface wave focusing under clear skies. The focusing events are the most intense fluctuations that occur on temporal scales of a fraction of a second.