A new model for the vertical spectral diffuse attenuation coefficient of downwelling irradiance in turbid coastal waters: Validation with in situ measurements

The vertical spectral diffuse attenuation coefficient of K is an important optical property related to the penetration and availability of light underwater, which is of fundamental interest in studies of ocean physics and biology. Models developed in the recent decades were mainly based on theoretical analyses and numerical (radiative transfer) simulations to estimate this property in optically deep waters, thus leaving inadequate knowledge of its variability at multiple depths and wavelengths, covering a wide range of solar incident geometry, in turbid coastal waters. In the present study, a new model is developed to quantify the vertical, spatial and temporal variability of K at multiple wavelengths and to quantify its dependence with respect to solar incident geometry under differing sky conditions. Thus, the new model is derived as a function of inherent optical properties (IOPs - absorption a and backscattering b), solar zenith angle and depth parameters. The model results are rigorously evaluated using time-series and discrete in situ data from clear and turbid coastal waters. The K values derived from the new model are found to agree with measured data within the mean relative error 0.02~6.24% and R 0.94~0.99. By contrast, the existing models have large errors when applied to the same data sets. Statistical results of the new model for the vertical spectral distribution of K in clear oceanic waters (for different solar zenith and inwater conditions) are also good when compared to those of the existing models. These results suggest that the new model can provide an improved interpretation about the variation of the vertical spectral diffuse attenuation coefficient of downwelling irradiance, which will have important implications for ocean physics, biogeochemical cycles and underwater applications in both relatively clear and turbid coastal waters. © 2013 Optical Society of America.