Influence of the radiation absorption by phytoplankton on the seawater spectra of brightness

The absorption spectra of suspended phytoplankton cells and pigments of chloroplasts are compared. The effect produced by differences in the absorption spectra on the spectral dependences of the brightness coefficients of the radiation emerging from seawater as well as on the colur index value is analysed. The methodical error in determining the phytoplankton concentratiion and other seawater components is estimated using the results of measurements of brightness coefficients and colour index. It is conditioned by the approximate representation of the phytoplankton's absorption spectra.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.