The problem of retrieving spatial information of the sea surface heights from aerial images is considered. We proceed, for simplicity, by considering a one-dimensional model of the problem. With some simplifying assumptions, we derive some analytical and numerical results that relate the autocorrelation of the surface heights and those of the sunglint patterns. We assume that the surfaces are such that they constitute approximations to Gaussian random processes. We also assume that the surfaces are illuminated by a source (the sun) of a fixed angular extent and imaged through a lens that subtends a very small solid angle. With these assumptions, we calculate their images, as they would be formed by a signal clipping detector. In order to do this, we define a `glitter function,' which operates on the slope of the surfaces. To test our predictions we have conducted a Monte Carlo type simulation. Random surfaces with two different power spectra have been generated in a computer. We find that under favorable conditions, it is possible to invert the relation numerically and estimate the surface height autocorrelation from the sunglint data. We obtain the wave spectra from the surface height autocorrelation via a Fourier transform.

Date Published: 22 December 1992
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 1749, Optics of the Air-Sea Interface: Theory and Measurement, (22 December 1992); doi: 10.1117/12.138848

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1749:
Optics of the Air-Sea Interface: Theory and Measurement
Leland Estep, Editor(s)