Coupling Suspended Sediment Dynamics and Light Penetration in the Upper Chesapeake Bay
- Published:
- May 1, 2006
- Originator:
- Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
The attenuation of light underwater is an important process. Three water quality constituents contribute to light attenuation in estuaries: colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorbs light selectively at blue wavelengths; phytoplankton chlorophyll a (CHLA) both scatters and absorbs light, having absorption peaks at blue and red wavelengths; and suspended solids (TSS) scatter and absorb light, with absorption predominately in the blue wavelength region. The problem of modeling light attenuation in estuaries, therefore, consists of specifying the contribution of water itself plus the three optically active water quality constituents to the absorption and scattering of light, then relating absorption and scattering to light attenuation using relationship derived from radiative transfer theory.