Predicted Optical Properties for Clear Natural Water*

This paper presents the results of an effort to predict the optical properties of a clean-water type as a function of wavelength. The prediction is based on extensive experimental spectral values for the irradiance-attenuation coefficient and the irradiance reflectance for clean, naturally occurring water, together with an analytical expression for the shape of the asymptotic radiance distribution and a synthesized table of spectral values for the total scattering coefficient based on recent experimental data obtained by Morel in the Mediterranean Sea. The values predicted for the total attenuation coefficient are found to compare favorably with recent data for the total attenuation coefficient obtained at several wavelengths by Austin, in the Sargasso Sea. Other optical properties predicted herein are found to be consistent with experimental values recently reported in the literature.