Abstract
Meteorological satellite scanning radiometer data from a visual sensor during daylight hours are characteristically influenced by sunglint from the ocean surface as the sensor scans in the direction toward the sun (between the satellite subpoint and solar subpoint). When seas are calm in the region near the primary specular point (PSP), the sun's rays are either reflected directly into the spacecraft sensor yielding a high energy (bright) response, or away from the sensor yielding a low energy (dark) response. The particular effect depends on the proximity of the calm area to the PSP. This paper shows examples of bright and dark linear patterns adjacent to and tending to parallel coastlines. The patterns are interpreted to be sea-breeze-induced calm zones originating during periods of offshore flow when the pressure gradient causing the sea breeze is exactly counterbalanced by the larger-wale synoptic gradient. A two-dimensional planetary boundary layer (PBL) numerical model successfully simulates this condition and additionally shows that the calm region first appears near the coastline as daytime heating commence and then moves seaward with time as afternoon heating over land is maximized. We show that, at least initially, the rapidity of movement and the distance covered in this movement are directly related to the land-sea temperature contrast and indirectly related to the speed of the offshore flow, and are highly sensitive to small changes in these parameters.
