OPTICAL ATTENUATION COEFFICIENTS IN OCEANIC AND ESTUARINE WATERS ...

• Main Author: Pilgrim, Derek Arthur
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of Plymouth 1988
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.24382/1863; https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/handle/10026.1/1098

Published hydro-optical theory pertinent to this study is critically reviewed; the optical quality of the instrumentation used is assessed and a method is proposed for judging the angular response of a diffuse collector. Consideration is given to the possibility of self shading, by an Undulating Oceanographic Recorder (UOR), of upwelling irradiance measurements; this would adversely affect the calculation of reflectance, an important optical parameter in remote sensor calibration work. A selection of optical measurements made at estuarine, coastal and deep sea locations are analysed and empirical relationships between optical coefficients are presented. A sample set of data obtained by means of a UOR during a tow across the Arctic Front is considered in detail, and a simple analysis of the contributing components of the diffuse attenuation coefficient is carried out. Since underwater visibility is limited by the beam and diffuse attenuation coefficients, diver observations of targets of known optical quality ...