Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Glitter and glints on water

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

We present new observations of glitter and glints using short and long time exposure photographs and high frame rate videos. Using the sun and moon as light sources to illuminate the ocean and laboratory water basins, we found that (1) most glitter takes place on capillary waves rather than on gravity waves, (2) certain aspects of glitter morphology depend on the presence or absence of thin clouds between the light source and the water, and (3) bent glitter paths are caused by asymmetric wave slope distributions We present computer simulations that are able to reproduce the observations and make predictions about the brightness, polarization, and morphology of glitter and glints. We demonstrate that the optical catastrophe represented by creation and annihilation of a glint can be understood using both ray optics and diffraction theory.

© 2011 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Blue sun glints on water viewed through a polarizer

Joseph A. Shaw and Michael Vollmer
Appl. Opt. 56(19) G36-G41 (2017)

Time-resolved polarimetry over water waves: relating glints and surface statistics

M. Ottaviani, C. Merck, S. Long, J. Koskulics, K. Stamnes, W. Su, and W. Wiscombe
Appl. Opt. 47(10) 1638-1648 (2008)

Isophotes of sunlight glitter on a wind-ruffled sea

Gilbert N. Plass, George W. Kattawar, and John A. Guinn
Appl. Opt. 16(3) 643-653 (1977)

Supplementary Material (4)

Media 1: AVI (5987 KB)     
Media 2: MOV (271 KB)     
Media 3: MOV (367 KB)     
Media 4: MOV (47226 KB)     

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Figures (24)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Equations (30)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Equations are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved