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. 1975 Feb 1;14(2):413-6.
doi: 10.1364/AO.14.000413.

Estimation of the depth of sunlight penetration in the sea for remote sensing

H R Gordon, W R McCluney

Estimation of the depth of sunlight penetration in the sea for remote sensing

H R Gordon et al. Appl Opt. .

Abstract

The penetration depth of light in the sea is defined for remote sensing purposes as the depth above which 90% of the diffusely reflected irradiance (excluding specular reflectance) originates. It is demonstrated that for a homogeneous ocean, this is the depth at which the downwelling in-water irradiance falls to 1/e of its value at the surface. Penetration depths as a function of wavelength are presented for a variety of water types, and a mean penetration depth z (90) for a broadband sensor is defined and applied to the MSS on ERTS-1. The maximum z (90) expected for ERTS-l is found to be somewhat less than 20 m.

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