Abstract
The sunglint areas of the ocean in NOAA satellite visible imagery appear as long swaths that extend from the northern extremes of the North Temperate Zone to the southern extreme of the South Temperate Zone. Examples are shown of complex features apparent in the sunglint area of visible imagery that closely match ocean-related thermal features in the companion infrared imagery. Various interpretations of these features are discussed. Data from the first phase of the Grand Banks Experiment (June 1978) are presented which demonstrate that such sunglint features are related to the strong ocean frontal processes present in this area. Although some of the features may be associated with fog or mist, side-looking airborne radar imagery collected during the experiment confirms the presence of surface roughness variations. The observations strongly suggest that these roughness variations are due to changes in the stability of the atmospheric boundary layer caused by the different surface water temperatures present in the area. The results demonstrate the usefulness of NOAA visible imagery as a tool to aid in the understanding of synoptic ocean processes, and suggest an important application for satellite and airborne synthetic aperture radars in mapping the roughness changes associated with ocean current systems.
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La Violette, P.E., Peteherych, S. & Gower, J.F.R. Oceanographic implications of features in NOAA satellite visible imagery. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 18, 159–175 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00121322
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00121322