The Origin of Blue-Green Window and the Propagation of Radiation in Ocean Waters

Abstract

A review of the present knowledge about the origin of blue-green window in the attenuation spectrum of ocean waters is presented. The various physical mechanisms which contribute to the formation of the w-indow are dealt separately and discussed. The typical values of attenuation coefficient arising out of the various processes are compiled to obtain the total beam attenuation coefficient. These values are then compared with measured values of attenuation coefficient for ocean waters collected from Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal. The region of minimum attenuation in pure particle-free sea water is found to be at 450 to 500 nm. It is sbown that in the presence of suspended 'particlesand chlorophyll, the window shifts to longer wavelength side. Some suggestions for future work in this area are also given in the concluding section.