Abstract

Oceanographic fluorescence or Raman lidar systems offer the chance to investigate the surface layer of the oceans synoptically with high sensitivity /1-4/. Usually the surface structure of the sea is not taken into account or is assumed to be planar, when performing such measurements, and the Fresnel losses are considered constant /5/. The physical situation discussed in the following shows however that the surface considerably interacts with that part of the excited fluorescence or Raman radiation contributing to the detector signal.