Inherent optical properties of the ocean: retrieval of the absorption coefficient of chromophoric dissolved organic matter from airborne laser spectral fluorescence measurements.

The absorption coefficient of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) at 355 nm has been retrieved from airborne laser-induced and water Raman-normalized CDOM fluorescence. Four combined airborne and ship field experiments have demonstrated that (1) the airborne CDOM fluorescence-to--water Raman ratio is linearly related to concurrent quinine-sulfate-standardized CDOM shipboard fluorescence measurements over a wide range of water masses (coastal to blue water); (2) the vicarious calibration of the airborne fluorosensor in units traceable to a fluorescence standard can be established and then maintained over an extended time period by tungsten lamp calibration; (3) the vicariously calibrated airborne CDOM fluorescence-to-water Raman ratio can be directly applied to previously developed shipboard fluorescence-to-absorption algorithms to retrieve CDOM absorption; and (4) the retrieval is not significantly affected by long-path multiple scattering, differences in attenuation at the excitation and emission wavelengths, or measurement in the 180° backscatter configuration. Airborne CDOM absorption measurements will find immediate application to (a) forward and inverse modeling of oceanic water-leaving radiance and (b) validation of satellite-retrieved products such as CDOM absorption.