Advances in ocean surface modeling to correct for sun and sky glint contributions in imaging spectroscopy measurements

Remote sensing of water bodies is critical for monitoring ecosystems of oceans and lakes. Estimates of chlorophyll concentration or phytoplankton blooms can provide valuable insights into environmental processes and anthropogenic disturbances. Imaging spectroscopy measurements feature the spectral resolution to detect and quantify these constituents. One of the challenging factors impacting the accuracy of these retrievals is surface glint. Glint correction algorithms are commonly applied as a post-hoc method introducing substantial uncertainties. We present a new approach that couples a physics-based surface model with simulations of atmospheric radiative transfer to estimate glint-corrected water-leaving reflectance directly from measured radiance. The model is validated with measurements from the PRISM sensor. We show that magnitude and shape of estimated remote sensing reflectance improves as the contribution of glint is removed. Our findings are essential for the conceptualization of retrieval algorithms for future spaceborne imaging spectroscopy missions, such as SBG and CHIME.