Computer simulations and theory of oceanographic fluorescence lidar signals: effect of sea surface structure

A 3-D computer simulation model has been developed using geometrical optics suitable for analyzing the effect of sea surface structure on oceanographic fluorescence lidar signals. Depth-resolved and depth-integrated signals reveal a considerable dependence on the surface structure. The results obtained by simulation are confirmed by a theoretical approach based on the transformation of solid angles by curved boundaries. Using statistical assumptions about the distribution of curvatures of the ocean surface, a general expression for this influence is found.