Imaging Properties of Light Scattered by the Sea*

Abstract

We describe a semiphenomenological model of single scattering of light in seawater by particles and turbulence, plus a semianalytic Monte Carlo program for treating the multiple scattering. Ample experimental data were available for wide-angle scattering, but experimental data were not available for scattering at the small angles (10−3 rad) most relevant for imaging, hence calculations were performed for a variety of parameter values. The results of the Monte Carlo computations were interpretable as simple scaling rules for angular dispersion as a function of range and medium parameters.