OPTICS OF MARINE PARTICLES AND MARINE OPTICS
A. MOREL
Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Marines
Universite Pierre et Marie Curie et CNRS
BP 08
F 06230 Villefranche sur Mer
France
INTRODUCTION
Optical oceanography was initially developed as a specific, somewhat isolated part of physical
oceanography. More or less independently, a few marine biologists and ecologists were
concerned with optical data and measurements, particularly concerning the study of oceanic
primary production (Steele and Menzel, 1962) and the estimation of the part of radiant energy
that can be absorbed within the algal compartment compared to that absorbed by detritus
(Yentsch, 1962; 1963; Riley, 1965). A paper by Yentsch and Yentsch (1984) Emergence of
optical instrumentation for measuring biological properties, described the new panorama
resulting from the introduction of powerful optical techniques in the 1980s. The techniques
which appear most promising paradoxically address the biological problems via opposite
scales: the microscopic (cell by cell) scale, typical of flow cytometry, and the global scale,
typical of satellite borne ocean color sensor. The interest of biologists with regard to optics
has been stimulated by the capacity of these new tools.
The measurements of the photosynthetic carbon fixation at sea were accelerated by the
introduction of the 14C method in the early 1960s. The need for adequate measurements of
available radiant energy was acknowledged and created an increasingly active participation of
optical oceanographers in the field of primary production studies. An efficient cooperation was
organized through the SCOR-Working Group 15, set up by the Scientific Committee on
Oceanic Research (1963) and chaired by J.E. Tyler (1966). Thanks to this cooperation in
particular, physicists realized that in the open ocean, the biological activity in general, and
NATO AS! Series, VoL G 27
Particle Analysis in Oceanography
Edited by S. Demers
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1991
A. MOREL
Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie Marines
Universite Pierre et Marie Curie et CNRS
BP 08
F 06230 Villefranche sur Mer
France
INTRODUCTION
Optical oceanography was initially developed as a specific, somewhat isolated part of physical
oceanography. More or less independently, a few marine biologists and ecologists were
concerned with optical data and measurements, particularly concerning the study of oceanic
primary production (Steele and Menzel, 1962) and the estimation of the part of radiant energy
that can be absorbed within the algal compartment compared to that absorbed by detritus
(Yentsch, 1962; 1963; Riley, 1965). A paper by Yentsch and Yentsch (1984) Emergence of
optical instrumentation for measuring biological properties, described the new panorama
resulting from the introduction of powerful optical techniques in the 1980s. The techniques
which appear most promising paradoxically address the biological problems via opposite
scales: the microscopic (cell by cell) scale, typical of flow cytometry, and the global scale,
typical of satellite borne ocean color sensor. The interest of biologists with regard to optics
has been stimulated by the capacity of these new tools.
The measurements of the photosynthetic carbon fixation at sea were accelerated by the
introduction of the 14C method in the early 1960s. The need for adequate measurements of
available radiant energy was acknowledged and created an increasingly active participation of
optical oceanographers in the field of primary production studies. An efficient cooperation was
organized through the SCOR-Working Group 15, set up by the Scientific Committee on
Oceanic Research (1963) and chaired by J.E. Tyler (1966). Thanks to this cooperation in
particular, physicists realized that in the open ocean, the biological activity in general, and
NATO AS! Series, VoL G 27
Particle Analysis in Oceanography
Edited by S. Demers
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1991