Regular paper

A novel method of measuring upwelling radiance in the hydrographic sub-hull

Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany

^* nick.ruessmeier@uni-oldenburg.de
^** oliver.zielinski@uni-oldenburg.de

Received: 28 September 2015
Revised: 11 December 2015

Abstract

In this study we present a new method useful in collecting upwelling radiance (L_u) from a platform submerged in a hydrographic sub-hull or moon pool of a research vessel. The information analyzed here was obtained during a field campaign in the Northwestern European shelf seas aboard the new research vessel SONNE. As the platform was located at the center of the ship, there is minimal effect from pitch and roll which is known to influence upwelling radiance observations. A comparison of the measurements from this platform with a free falling hyperspectral profiler was performed to determine the degree of uncertainty that results from ship shadow. For given L_u(λ) in situ data we observed ±33% intensity deviations compared to profiling measurements that can be attributed to instrument shading during moon pool installation and environmental perturbations. Furthermore Lu(l) in situ spectra variations were observed at lower wavelengths, therefore a form fitting algorithm was adapted to receive corresponding depths with identical spectral form from L_u(z, λ) profiler casts. During an east to west transect in North Sea with a schedule speed up to 12 knots in situ radiance reflectance r_rs(7, λ) measurements at 7 meter depth were performed with this novel radiometer setup. In spite of any restrictions originating from the sub-hull installation, water masses mixing zone from CDOM dominated coastal waters in the Skagerrak Strait towards the open North Sea were successfully derived thus offering an underway applicable upwelling radiance sensing not suffering from sun glint or other typical restrictions of above water radiometer installations.