Surface Stereo for Shallow Underwater Scenes

Imaging underwater scenes with a surface based stereo system allows for reconstruction where having an underwater system is unsafe or impractical. Refraction and other optical phenomena complicate the reconstruction process, and here we analyze these factors and propose techniques for mitigating problems. Existing techniques are of limited use in practical settings, or have ignored physical properties which complicate the reconstruction task. We demonstrate that physical properties can be used to aid in reconstruction and surface modeling using optical and thermal properties of water. In this work we analyze these properties and provide a grounded example with ecological and geophysical applications.