Effects of physical forcing and particle characteristics on underwater imaging performance

We computed the modulation transfer function (MTF), which is the magnitude of the Fourier transform of the point spread function, for two different water bodies using measurements of optical properties and analytical formulations. Knowledge of the MTF is important for the interpretation of images from underwater electro-optical systems. The data were collected from two field sites as part of the Office of Naval Research sponsored Radiance in a Dynamic Ocean program: (1) Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) Pier, a shallow-water, eutrophic environment, and (2) the Santa Barbara Channel (SBC), a deeper, mesotrophic environment. Wavelet analysis was employed to investigate the sources of variability of the MTF and the periodicities at which they occur. Results suggest that the MTF was strongly related to wind conditions and advection events and the optical properties serving as proxies for particle concentration and composition in the SBC. Increased wind speeds and stresses resulted in upper water column mixing, decreased water clarity, and reductions in image transmission. Rip currents accompanied by high concentrations of reflective particles observed at SIO Pier resulted in increases in the MTF. Optically derived particle composition characteristics such as the bulk particle real index of refraction and particle size distribution are shown to be related to the variability of imaging performance at both field sites.