Chlorophyll-based model of seawater optical properties.

A one-parameter model of the inherent optical properties of biologically stable waters is proposed. The model is based on the results of in situ measurements of inherent optical properties that have been conducted at different seas and oceans by a number of researchers. The results of these investigations are processed to force this model to agree satisfactorily with an established regression model that connects the color index with the chlorophyll concentration. The model couples two concentrations of colored dissolved organic matter (concentrations of humic and fulvic acids) and two concentrations of suspended scattering particles (concentrations of terrigenic and biogenic particles) with the chlorophyll concentration. As a result, this model expresses all inherent properties of seawater by a single parameter, the concentration of chlorophyll.