Radiative transfer theory for inland waters

Abstract

The inland waters on Earth are as manifold as their surrounding ecosystems and catchment areas: water constituents and sea floor composition differ considerably in type, concentration and optical properties. The associated optical diversity of pelagial and benthos makes the quantitative description of the observed spectral variety of inland waters a challenging task. Algorithms based on a physically sound treatment of the radiative transfer and the optical properties have the potential to be applicable to a wide range of water types. The chapter provides an overview about the physical principles of interaction of light with matter and the radiative transfer in water, and it describes the deduced bio-optical models forming the backbone of data analysis for optical in situ measurements and remote sensing.