1977/07/01 by Anclré Morel, Louis Prieur · 9 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Absorptance #Absorption (acoustics) #Atmospheric sciences #Attenuation coefficient #Computational physics #Downwelling #Environmental science #Geology #Impact of Light on Environment and Health #Light scattering #Marine and coastal ecosystems #Oceanography #Optics #Physics #Reflectivity #Remote sensing #Scattering #Seawater #Turbidity #Upwelling #Water Quality Monitoring and Analysis #Wavelength
paper · pdf · doi:10.4319/lo.1977.22.4.0709
openalex publication_date 1977/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Spectral measurements of downwelling and upwelling daylight were made in waters different with respect to turbidity and pigment content and from these data the spectral values of the reflectance ratio just below the sea surface, R (λ), were calculated. The experimental results are interpreted by comparison with the theoretical R (λ) values computed from the absorption and back‐scattering coefficients. The importance of molecular scattering in the light back‐scattering process is emphasized. The R (λ) values observed for blue waters are in full agreement with computed values in which new and realistic values of the absorption coefficient for pure water are used and presented. For the various green waters, the chlorophyll concentrations and the scattering coefficients, as measured, are used in computations which account for the observed R (λ) values. The inverse process, i.e. to infer the content of the water from R (λ) measurements at selected wavelengths, is discussed in view of remote sensing applications.