Light absorption and scattering by ocean waters in the vicinity of the Chatham Rise, South Pacific Ocean

Inherent optical properties, namely spectral absorption coefficients of sol uble and filterable (Millipore 0.22 mu m) particulate constituents, and bea m attenuation coefficients, have been measured at 19 stations east of New Z ealand, in the vicinity of the Chatham Rise. In-water spectroradiometer irr adiance measurements were used to test a recent algorithm for the estimatio n of spectral absorption coefficients. The results suggest that the algorit hm worked from the near-UV through the blue and green parts of the spectrum up to wavelengths at which Raman emission became significant (>590 nm). Co mparison with spectroradiometrically derived absorption suggests that calcu lations of absorption spectra from spectrophotometer measurements of yellow substance and particulate matter captured on filters are biased by use of a published empirical relationship for the 'path amplification' factor. How ever, scattering coefficients obtained from the spectroradiometer data by u sing the algorithm were in reasonable agreement with those obtained from tr ansmissometry and spectrophotometric data.