Abstract

Using Monte Carlo simulations of radiative transfer in the ocean, I show that measurements of the absorption coefficient and the volume scattering function for scattering angles > 15 degrees of ocean water are sufficient for predicting the transport of irradiance in the ocean. Thus, the difficult-to-measure small angle scattering is not necessary in many applications. Furthermore, irrelevance of small-angle scattering suggests the irrelevance of the scattering coefficient and the routinely-measured beam attenuation coefficient in many radiative transfer problems. Finally, these observations provide a method for determining the adequacy of instruments employing small sampling volumes (~ few cm³), for predicting irradiance attenuation and diffuse reflection, which sample very large volumes (~ 10-10⁵ m³).

© 1993 Optical Society of America