Quick and Easy Measurements of the Inherent Optical Property of Water by Laser

To generate realistic images of natural waters, one must consider in some detail the interaction of light with the water body. The reflectance and attenuation coefficient of the second harmonic of Nd:YAG laser light through distilled water and a sample of water from the Oman Sea were measured in a solid-state laser laboratory to estimate inherent optical properties of natural waters. These measurements determined the bottom conditions and the impurities of the water. The water's reflectivity varied depending on the angle of incidence, height of the laser from water surface, wavelength of laser light, radiant intensities, and depth of water. In these experiments laser light propagated through the water nonlinearly, and different reflectance showed different bottom slopes. The differences among various water samples were obtained taking into account the exponential equation in attenuation coefficient versus depth graphs.