Life Sciences Commons^™

Why Should We Measure The Optical Backscattering Coefficient?, Emmanuel Boss, Dariusz Stramski, Trisha Bergmann, W. Scott Pegau, Marlon Lewis

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

In recent years commercial sensors for in situ determinations of optical backscattering coefficient, b_b, have become available. The small size and low power requirements of these sensors permit deployment from small sensing platforms such as autonomous underwater vehicles, in addition to standard profiling packages. Given their rapid sampling time (sub second) they can collect data with high temporal and spatial resolution (sub meter).

While these are attractive features of any sensor they do not answer the question: why should oceanographers measure b_b?

The short answer is that b_b carries useful information about seawater constituents that …

The New Age Of Hyperspectral Oceanography, Grace Chang, Kevin Mahoney, Amanda Briggs-Whitmire, David D.R. Kohler, Curtis D. Mobley, Marlon Lewis, Mark A. Moline, Emmanuel Boss, Minsu Kim, William Philpot, Tommy D. Dickey

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

A multispectral optical sensor collects data at select wavebands or channels. An example is the Sea-viewing Wide-Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) ocean color satellite, which measures eight wavebands between 402 and 885 nm (20-40 nm bandwidth with peaks centered around 412, 443, 490, 510, 555, 670, 765, and 865 nm). Optical oceanographers have been using multispectral sensors since the 1980s with great success.

The Role Of Seawater Constituents In Light Backscattering In The Ocean, Dariusz Stramski, Emmanuel Boss, Darek Bogucki, Kenneth J. Voss

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

The significance of light backscattering in the ocean is wide ranging, especially in optical remote sensing. However, the complexity of natural seawater as an optical medium often obscures the measured optical signals to the point that our present-day interpretation and detailed understanding of major sources of backscattering and its variability in the ocean are uncertain and controversial. Here we review the roles played by various seawater constituents in light backscattering and we address a question of 'missing' backscattering. Historically, this question has resulted from a hypothesis that under non-bloom conditions in the open ocean, phytoplankton make a significantly smaller contribution …

Optical Modeling Of Ocean Waters: Is The Case 1 - Case 2 Classification Still Useful?, Curtis D. Mobley, Dariusz Stramski, W. Paul Bissett, Emmanuel Boss

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

…two extreme cases can be identified and separated. Case 1 is that of a concentration of phytoplankton high compared to other particles…. In contrast, the inorganic particles are dominant in case 2.… In both cases dissolved yellow substance is present in variable amounts.… An ideal case 1 would be a pure culture of phytoplankton and an ideal case 2 a suspension of nonliving material with a zero concentration of pigments.

Morel and Prieur emphasized that these ideal cases are not encountered in nature, and they suggested the use of high or low values of the ratio of pigment concentration to …