Attenuation versus Transparency
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 111, Issue 4
Abstract
The differential response of the two commonly used measures of light penetration in water, Secchi disc transparency and the attenuation coefficient for downwelling irradiance to the light attenuating processes of absorption and scattering is described. It is demonstrated that the commonly invoked constancy in the product should only be expected when the relative contributions of scattering and absorption to remains uniform. A number of scenarios and documented phenomena are presented for which preferential effects on scattering or absorption, and therefore variable values of are expected. Measurement errors also contribute to variability in particularly at low SD values. Paired observations of and SD presented from four different systems, representing a wide range of and SD values, demonstrate the variability of the magnitude of within individual systems. Secchi disc transparency is probably not a reliable indicator of in many systems. It is recommended that the uncertainty associated with invoking the constancy of in various ecological modeling efforts, in which measurements are missing or are temporally limited, be accommodated.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 111 • Issue 4 • August 1985
Pages: 448 - 459
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 ASCE.
History
Published online: Aug 1, 1985
Published in print: Aug 1985
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