Abstract: Disclosed is a method and apparatus for remote sensing of the salinity of large bodies of water.A sequence of intensity values is obtained for the horizontally and vertically polarized components of sunlight specularly reflected as a solar glitter pattern at successive points on the surface of the body of water. For readings corresponding to each pair of points, the fractional change of horizontal and vertical component intensity between the points is computed, as in the ratio of the fractional change in the vertical component to the fractional change in the horizontal component. If the ratio is sufficiently near a theoretical value, dependent on the solar zenith angle, to indicate that the corresponding intensity changes were actually caused by a change in salinity, the salinity change is calculated using formulae derived from the Fresnel equations.

Abstract: Disclosed is an improved method and apparatus for remote sensing of the salinity of large bodies of water. Intensity values are simultaneously obtained for the horizontally and vertically polarized components of sunlight specularly reflected as a solar glitter pattern at a point on the surface of the body of water where the salinity is known. The aperture of the vertical polarization detection optical system is adjusted so that the signal voltage from that system is equal to that generated from the horizontal polarization detection optical system at that point. A signal whose amplitude corresponds to the change in salinity between another point and that known point on the surface is generated by multiplying the signal from the horizontal polarization detector by a function of the solar zenith angle and dividing the difference between the output from the horizontal polarization detector and a vertical polarization detector by this product.