In situ measurements of Raman scattering in clear ocean water

Study and Design of a Machine Learning-Enabled Laser-Based Sensor for Pure and Sea Water Determination Using COMSOL Multiphysics

Accurate detection of salt in water is crucial in many applications. Numerous techniques, using direct and indirect methods, have been employed to design seawater sensors. Among the indirect sensing methods, optical sensors are known to be the most accurate, easy to implement, and suitable for application where the chemical properties of the solution to be tested should stay unchanged. This research presents a novel method for real-time label-free biochemical detection of salty water combining various optics concepts with a machine learning system. COMSOL Multiphysics has been employed to design and simulate the proposed sensor. The designed device uses a laser light emitted from the top of a water container, with a sensing part located on the bottom surface. The laser light initially propagates in the air portion, then refracts when it comes into contact with the air-water interface. Different parameters, including the laser beam wavelength λ and its incident angles θi, the temperature, and the air-water levels are employed to generate a set of data and the multilayer perceptron classifier (MLP) to model prediction. The obtained results validated the concept of the proposed sensor using machine learning. The sensor’s prediction precision under various temperature conditions is R2 = 0.844, the equivalent of an MSE of 0.155.

Evaluating semi-analytical algorithms for estimating inherent optical properties in the South China Sea

Using large amounts of bio-optical data collected in the South China Sea (SCS) from 2003 to 2016, this study checks the consistency between well-known semi-analytical algorithms (SAAs)-the quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA) and the default generalized inherent optical property (GIOP-DC)-in retrieving the non-water absorption coefficient (a_nw(λ)), phytoplankton absorption coefficient (a_ph(λ)) and particulate backscattering coefficient (b_bp(λ)) from remote-sensing reflectance (R_rs(λ)) data at 412, 443, 490, 531, and 555 nm. The samples from the SCS are further separated into oligotrophic and mesotrophic water types for the comparison of the SAAs. Several findings are made: First, the values of an_w(λ) derived from the two SAAs deliver similar performance, with R² values ranging from 0.74 to 0.85 and 0.74 to 0.87, implying absolute percent error differences (APDs) from 37.93% to 74.88% and from 32.32% to 71.75% for the QAA and GIOP-DC, respectively. The QAA shows a value of R² between 0.64 and 0.91 and APDs between 43.57% to 83.53%, while the GIOP-DC yields R² between 0.76 to 0.89 and APDs between 44.65% to 79.46% when estimating a_ph(λ). The values of b_bp(λ) derived from the QAA are closer to the in-situ b_bp(λ) values, as indicated by the low values of the normalized centered root-mean-square deviation and normalized standard deviation, which are close to one. Second, a regionally tuned estimation of a_ph(λ) is proposed and recommended for the SCS. This consistency check of inherent optical properties products from SAAs can serve as reference for algorithm selection for further applications, including primary production, carbon, and biogeochemical models of the SCS, and can provide guidance for improving a_ph(λ) estimation.

Characterization of the Light Field and Apparent Optical Properties in the Ocean Euphotic Layer Based on Hyperspectral Measurements of Irradiance Quartet

Although the light fields and apparent optical properties (AOPs) within the ocean euphotic layer have been studied for many decades through extensive measurements and theoretical modeling, there is virtually a lack of simultaneous high spectral resolution measurements of plane and scalar downwelling and upwelling irradiances (the so-called irradiance quartet). We describe a unique dataset of hyperspectral irradiance quartet, which was acquired under a broad range of environmental conditions within the water column from the near-surface depths to about 80 m in the Gulf of California. This dataset enabled the characterization of a comprehensive suite of AOPs for realistic non-uniform vertical distributions of seawater inherent optical properties (IOPs) and chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl) in the common presence of inelastic radiative processes within the water column, in particular Raman scattering by water molecules and chlorophyll-a fluorescence. In the blue and green spectral regions, the vertical patterns of AOPs are driven primarily by IOPs of seawater with weak or no discernible effects of inelastic processes. In the red, the light field and AOPs are strongly affected or totally dominated by inelastic processes of Raman scattering by water molecules, and additionally by chlorophyll-a fluorescence within the fluorescence emission band. The strongest effects occur in the chlorophyll-a fluorescence band within the chlorophyll-a maximum layer, where the average cosines of the light field approach the values of uniform light field, irradiance reflectance is exceptionally high approaching 1, and the diffuse attenuation coefficients for various irradiances are exceptionally low, including the negative values for the attenuation of upwelling plane and scalar irradiances. We established the empirical relationships describing the vertical patterns of some AOPs in the red spectral region as well as the relationships between some AOPs which can be useful in common experimental situations when only the downwelling plane irradiance measurements are available. We also demonstrated the applicability of irradiance quartet data in conjunction with Gershun’s equation for estimating the absorption coefficient of seawater in the blue-green spectral region, in which the effects of inelastic processes are weak or negligible.

Water-leaving contribution to polarized radiation field over ocean

The top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiation field from a coupled atmosphere-ocean system (CAOS) includes contributions from the atmosphere, surface, and water body. Atmospheric correction of ocean color imagery is to retrieve water-leaving radiance from the TOA measurement, from which ocean bio-optical properties can be obtained. Knowledge of the absolute and relative magnitudes of water-leaving signal in the TOA radiation field is important for designing new atmospheric correction algorithms and developing retrieval algorithms for new ocean biogeochemical parameters. In this paper we present a systematic sensitivity study of water-leaving contribution to the TOA radiation field, from 340 nm to 865 nm, with polarization included. Ocean water inherent optical properties are derived from bio-optical models for two kinds of waters, one dominated by phytoplankton (PDW) and the other by non-algae particles (NDW). In addition to elastic scattering, Raman scattering and fluorescence from dissolved organic matter in ocean waters are included. Our sensitivity study shows that the polarized reflectance is minimized for both CAOS and ocean signals in the backscattering half plane, which leads to numerical instability when calculating water leaving relative contribution, the ratio between polarized water leaving and CAOS signals. If the backscattering plane is excluded, the water-leaving polarized signal contributes less than 9% to the TOA polarized reflectance for PDW in the whole spectra. For NDW, the polarized water leaving contribution can be as much as 20% in the wavelength range from 470 to 670 nm. For wavelengths shorter than 452 nm or longer than 865 nm, the water leaving contribution to the TOA polarized reflectance is in general smaller than 5% for NDW. For the TOA total reflectance, the water-leaving contribution has maximum values ranging from 7% to 16% at variable wavelengths from 400 nm to 550 nm from PDW. The water leaving contribution to the TOA total reflectance can be as large as 35% for NDW, which is in general peaked at 550 nm. Both the total and polarized reflectances from water-leaving contributions approach zero in the ultraviolet and near infrared bands. These facts can be used as constraints or guidelines when estimating the water leaving contribution to the TOA reflectance for new atmospheric correction algorithms for ocean color imagery.

Vector radiative transfer model for coupled atmosphere and ocean systems including inelastic sources in ocean waters

Inelastic scattering plays an important role in ocean optics. The main inelastic scattering mechanisms include Raman scattering, fluorescence by colored dissolved organic matter (FDOM), and fluorescence by chlorophyll. This paper reports an implementation of all three inelastic scattering mechanisms in the exact vector radiative transfer model for coupled atmosphere and ocean Systems (CAOS). Simulation shows that FDOM contributes to the water radiation field in the broad visible spectral region, while chlorophyll fluorescence is limited in a narrow band centered at 685 nm. This is consistent with previous findings in the literature. The fluorescence distribution as a function of depth and viewing angle is presented. The impacts of fluorescence to the degree of linear polarization (DoLP) and orientation of the polarization ellipse (OPE) are studied. The DoLP is strongly influenced by inelastic scattering at wavelengths with strong inelastic scattering contribution. The OPE is less affected by inelastic scattering but it has a noticeable impact, in terms of the angular region of positive polarization, in the backward direction. This effect is more apparent for deeper water depth.

Implementation of an analytical Raman scattering correction for satellite ocean-color processing

Raman scattering of photons by seawater molecules is an inelastic scattering process. This effect can contribute significantly to the water-leaving radiance signal observed by space-borne ocean-color spectroradiometers. If not accounted for during ocean-color processing, Raman scattering can cause biases in derived inherent optical properties (IOPs). Here we describe a Raman scattering correction (RSC) algorithm that has been integrated within NASA's standard ocean-color processing software. We tested the RSC with NASA's Generalized Inherent Optical Properties algorithm (GIOP). A comparison between derived IOPs and in situ data revealed that the magnitude of the derived backscattering coefficient and the phytoplankton absorption coefficient were reduced when the RSC was applied, whilst the absorption coefficient of colored dissolved and detrital matter remained unchanged. Importantly, our results show that the RSC did not degrade the retrieval skill of the GIOP. In addition, a time-series study of oligotrophic waters near Bermuda showed that the RSC did not introduce unwanted temporal trends or artifacts into derived IOPs.

Contribution of Raman scattering to polarized radiation field in ocean waters

We have implemented Raman scattering in a vector radiative transfer model for coupled atmosphere and ocean systems. A sensitivity study shows that the Raman scattering contribution is greatest in clear waters and at longer wavelengths. The Raman scattering contribution may surpass the elastic scattering contribution by several orders of magnitude at depth. The degree of linear polarization in water is smaller when Raman scattering is included. The orientation of the polarization ellipse shows similar patterns for both elastic and inelastic scattering contributions. As polarimeters and multipolarization-state lidars are planned for future Earth observing missions, our model can serve as a valuable tool for the simulation and interpretation of these planned observations.

Influence of Raman scattering on ocean color inversion models

Raman scattering can be a significant contributor to the emergent radiance spectrum from the surface ocean. Here, we present an analytical approach to directly estimate the Raman contribution to remote sensing reflectance, and evaluate its effects on optical properties estimated from two common semianalytical inversion models. For application of the method to ocean color remote sensing, spectral irradiance products in the ultraviolet from the OMI instrument are merged with MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data in the visible. The resulting global fields of Raman-corrected optical properties show significant differences from standard retrievals, particularly for the particulate backscattering coefficient, b(bp), where average errors in clear ocean waters are ~50%. Given the interest in transforming b(bp) into biogeochemical quantities, Raman scattering must be accounted for in semianalytical inversion schemes.

An inherent-optical-property-centered approach to correct the angular effects in water-leaving radiance

Remote-sensing reflectance (R(rs)), which is defined as the ratio of water-leaving radiance (L(w)) to downwelling irradiance just above the surface (E(d)(0⁺)), varies with both water constituents (including bottom properties of optically-shallow waters) and angular geometry. L(w) is commonly measured in the field or by satellite sensors at convenient angles, while E(d)(0⁺) can be measured in the field or estimated based on atmospheric properties. To isolate the variations of R(rs) (or L(w)) resulting from a change of water constituents, the angular effects of R(rs) (or L(w)) need to be removed. This is also a necessity for the calibration and validation of satellite ocean color measurements. To reach this objective, for optically-deep waters where bottom contribution is negligible, we present a system centered on water's inherent optical properties (IOPs). It can be used to derive IOPs from angular R_rs and offers an alternative to the system centered on the concentration of chlorophyll. This system is applicable to oceanic and coastal waters as well as to multiband and hyperspectral sensors. This IOP-centered system is applied to both numerically simulated data and in situ measurements to test and evaluate its performance. The good results obtained suggest that the system can be applied to angular R(rs) to retrieve IOPs and to remove the angular variation of R(rs).

Raman lidar observations of cloud liquid water

We report the design and the performances of a Raman lidar for long-term monitoring of tropospheric aerosol backscattering and extinction coefficients, water vapor mixing ratio, and cloud liquid water. We focus on the system's capabilities of detecting Raman backscattering from cloud liquid water. After describing the system components, along with the current limitations and options for improvement, we report examples of observations in the case of low-level cumulus clouds. The measurements of the cloud liquid water content, as well as the estimations of the cloud droplet effective radii and number densities, obtained by combining the extinction coefficient and cloud water content within the clouds, are critically discussed.

Digital frame averaging and dark mapping for a video-based underwater imaging spectrometer system

A solid-state video camera is used as the focal plane detector in an underwater spectrometer system to acquire multiple spectra simultaneously within the water column. Signal-to-noise enhancement of the spectra is accomplished by use of a combination of frame averaging and dark field mapping so that the dynamic range of the individual frame can be increased from approximately 7 bits to > 13.5 bits. This method also removes the need for shuttering to determine the dark background or device cooling to reduce the dark current noise. The dark mapping algorithm is shown to be valid over a range of device temperatures so that the detector can vary freely with the ambient water temperature without loss in mapping accuracy. Despite observation times that can be up to an order of magnitude greater than cooled devices, the use of frame averaging and dark mapping eliminates the need for additional detector cooldown time and can provide a smaller, simpler, more power efficient, and robust design.

Effect of inelastic scattering on underwater daylight in the ocean: model evaluation, validation, and first results

A model based on a matrix-operator theory capable of simulating underwater daylight in the ocean is presented. The main focus is on gelbstoff and chlorophyll fluorscence as well as water Raman scattering as sources of inelastic scattering and their effect on underwater daylight and relevance for the remote sensing of ocean color. Any combination of inelastic sources can be investigated, including differences in simulated underwater daylight in the absence and the presence of these sources. To our knowledge, it is the first matrix-operator model to include all these inelastic source. The model allows simulations for case 1 and case 2 waters. Calculations can be done with highly anisotropic phase functions as they are observed in the ocean, and every order of multiple scattering is considered. A detailed mathematical description of inelastic sources is given, and a special treatment of the depth dependency of these sources is presented. The model is validated by comparison with depth-dependent and spectrally resolved measurements of downward irradiance in the open ocean. The differences between measured and simulated data are within the error of the radiometric measurements. Water Raman scattering has been found to contribute significantly to water-leaving radiance. The inelastic fraction depends on the water Raman scattering coefficient, on the ratio of the total attenuation coefficient at excitation and emission wavelengths, and on the spectral course of the irradiance incident on the ocean. For clear ocean waters the inelastic fraction can reach values of more than 17% [C = 0.08 mg m(-3), a(y) (440 nm) = 0.01 m(-1)] at wavelengths relevant for the remote sensing of ocean color. The inelastic fraction of gelbstoff fluorescence can reach or even exceed the relevance of water Raman scattering atshort wavelengths. In the water column, depending on optically active substances and on actual depth, water Raman scattering can provide 100% of the light field at wavelengths greater than 580 nm. The effect of gelbstoff fluorescence on depth-dependent irradiances is less significant than the effect of water Raman scattering in all cases considered, except for near surface levels and high gelbstoff concentrations.

Irradiance inversion algorithm for estimating the absorption and backscattering coefficients of natural waters: Raman-scattering effects

We modify an algorithm for retrieving the absorption (a) and backscattering (b(b)) coefficient profiles in natural waters by inverting profiles of downwelling and upwelling irradiance so as to include the presence of Raman scattering. For a given wavelength of interest, lambda, the light field at the appropriate Raman excitation wavelength lambda(e) is first inverted to obtain the Raman source function at lambda. Starting from estimates of the inherent optical properties at lambda, the contribution to the irradiances at lambda from Raman scattering is then estimated and subtracted from the total irradiances to obtain the elastically scattered irradiances. We then inverted the elastically scattered irradiances to find new estimates of a and b(b) using our original method [Appl. Opt. 37, 3886 (1998)]. The algorithm then operates iteratively: The new estimates are used with the Raman source function to derive a new estimate of the Raman contribution, etc. Sample results are provided that demonstrate the working of the algorithm and show that the absorption and scattering coefficients can be retrieved with accuracies similar to those in the absence of Raman scattering down to depths at which the light field is significantly perturbed by it, e.g., with approximately 90% of the upwelling light field originating from Raman scattering.

Contribution of Raman scattering to water-leaving radiance: a reexamination

We have reexamined the contribution of Raman scattering to the water-leaving radiance in case 1 waters by carrying out radiative transfer simulations that combine the latest reported measurements of the absorption coefficient of pure water with direct measurements of the spectral variation of the Raman-scattering coefficient. The resulting contribution of Raman scattering is then compared with experimental measurements of the water-leaving radiance, and the fractional contribution of radiance produced by Raman scattering to the total radiance measured at a given wavelength is determined. The results show that (1) the contribution of Raman scattering to the water-leaving radiance in an ocean of pure seawater is as much as 50-100% larger than earlier predictions, and (2) the Raman contribution does not decay as rapidly with increasing concentrations of chlorophyllouslike pigments C as predicted earlier. In fact, the Raman fraction for C <or= 1 mg/m(3) is approximately >8% at wavelengths of interest in ocean color remote sensing and therefore cannot be ignored in ocean color modeling.

Raman scattering by pure water and seawater

Measurements of the magnitude and spectral distribution of the Raman-scattering coefficients of pure water (b(rw)) and seawater (b(rs)) are presented. Two independent measurements of the spectral distribution of the Raman-scattering coefficient of pure water were made for incident wavelengths ranging from 250 to 500 nm. These measurements revealed a strong dependence of b(rw) on wavelength that could be represented by a (lambda')(-5.3+/-0.3) relationship, where lambda' is the incident wavelength, or a lambda(-4.6+/-0.3) relationship, where lambda is the Raman-scattered wavelength, when normalized to units of photons. The corresponding relationships for normalization to energy are (lambda')(-5.5+/-0.4) and lambda(-4.8+/-0.3), respectively. These relationships are found to be consistent with resonance Raman theory for an absorption wavelength of 130 nm. The absolute value of b(rw) for the 3400-cm(-1) line was found to be (2.7 +/- 0.2) x 10(-4) m(-1) for an incident wavelength of 488 nm, which is consistent with a number of earlier reports. The difference between the magnitudes of the Raman-scattering coefficients for pure water and seawater was statistically insignificant.