부산대학교 도서관

The 532-nm green laser light commonly used for airborne laser bathymetry (ALB) can penetrate clear shallow water but is sensitive to turbidity, which could lead to water surface uncertainty. In this study, water surface uncertainty was quantitatively assessed using a photon-counting LiDAR (PCL) with high receiver sensitivity to analyze the effect of turbidity. The qualitative results showed that the water surface heights are generally underestimated, and the surface detection accuracy in turbid water is superior to that in clear water. These findings were confirmed by statistical analysis of representative data in quantitative empirical experiments. The diffuse attenuation coefficient as a metric of water turbidity ranged from 0.14 to 4.80 $\text{m}^{-1}$ for clear to turbid water. The corresponding underestimated deviation ranged from 0.37 to 0.08 m, and the root-mean-square error (RMSE) was ranged from 0.39 to 0.06 m. In addition, the radiative transfer mechanism underlying the underestimation of water surface heights at different levels as water turbidity varies was determined by comparing the simulated and measured results. On the one hand, there is a high exponential relationship between the underestimation deviation and the diffuse attenuation coefficient when considering only the water optical properties. On the other hand, the presence of direct reflection component from the surface actually has an inhibiting effect on the underestimation. The present study provides reliable evidence for further understanding the interaction of green lasers with the air–water interfaces.