Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans
Publication Date
2-16-2011
Publication Number
C02023
Volume Number
116
Abstract/ Summary
The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that the aggregated state of natural marine particles constrains the sensitivity of optical beam attenuation to particle size. An instrumented bottom tripod was deployed at the 12-m node of the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory to monitor particle size distributions, particle size-versus-settling-velocity relationships, and the beam attenuation coefficient (c(p)) in the bottom boundary layer in September 2007. An automated in situ filtration system on the tripod collected 24 direct estimates of suspended particulate mass (SPM) during each of five deployments. On a sampling interval of 5 min, data from a Sequoia Scientific LISST 100x Type B were merged with data from a digital floc camera to generate suspended particle volume size distributions spanning diameters from approximately 2 mu m to 4 cm. Diameter-dependent densities were calculated from size-versus-settling-velocity data, allowing conversion of the volume size distributions to mass distributions, which were used to estimate SPM every 5 min. Estimated SPM and measured c(p) from the LISST 100x were linearly correlated throughout the experiment, despite wide variations in particle size. The slope of the line, which is the ratio of c(p) to SPM, was 0.22 g m(-2). Individual estimates of c(p):SPM were between 0.2 and 0.4 g m(-2) for volumetric median particle diameters ranging from 10 to 150 mu m. The wide range of values in c(p):SPM in the literature likely results from three factors capable of producing factor-of-two variability in the ratio: particle size, particle composition, and the finite acceptance angle of commercial beam-transmissometers.
Repository Citation
Hill, P. S.; Boss, Emmanuel; Newgard, J. P.; Law, B. A.; and Milligan, T. G., "Observations of the Sensitivity of Beam Attenuation to Particle Size in a Coastal Bottom Boundary Layer" (2011). Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship. 82.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/sms_facpub/82
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Hill PS, Boss E, Newgard JP, Law BA, Milligan TG. Observations of the Sensitivity of Beam Attenuation to Particle Size in a Coastal Bottom Boundary Layer. Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans. 2011;116: C02023. To view the published open abstract, go to http://dx.doi.org and enter the DOI.
Publisher Statement
Copyright 2011 American Geophysical Union.
DOI
10.1029/2010JC006539
Version
publisher's version of the published document
