Optical Properties of the Arctic Upper Water

Abstract

Optical properties of the Arctic Upper Water have been measured from Fletcher's Ice Island, T-3, in the Arctic Ocean. Beam transmittance for various wave-lengths and the upwelling and downwelling irradiance have been measured to a depth of 120 metres. In the spectral region of maximum transmittance, the beam transmittance was found to be 93.1% per metre and the diffuse attenuation coefficient for irradiance was 0.0444 per metre. The data show that the Arctic Upper Water, in early May before the snow cover on the ice has cleared, is optically uniform and very clear.