ABSTRACT
The optical cross section spectra of indigenous organic and inorganic matter are directly responsible for the radiance distribution emerging from a water body in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The remote estimation of aquatic component concentrations is, therefore, contingent upon precise knowlege of the cross section spectra appropriate to the water body being remotely monitored. Since chlorophyll pigments are among the principal ocean colorants, it logically follows that numerous workers have directed considerable effort toward obtaining the optical cross sections of chlorophyll-bearing biota. Nevertheless, they should serve to display the impact that variations in co-existing concentrations of chlorophyll, suspended minerals, and dissolved organic carbon will have on the volume reflectance spectra of natural waters. Atmospheric and air-water interface transference models are required to convert radiance spectra observable at the remote platform into volume reflectance spectra just below the air-water interface.
