We report on the influence of submerged bubble clouds on the remote-sensing
properties of water. We show that the optical effect of bubbles on radiati
ve transfer and on the estimate of the ocean colour is significant. We pres
ent a global map of the volume fraction of air in water derived from daily
wind speed data. This map. together with the parametrization of the microph
ysical properties, shows the possible significance of bubble clouds on the
albedo to incoming solar energy.