Topics in Particle and Dispersion Science

Fig. 1. The scattering coefficient of pure seawater at 546 nm as a function of temperature and salinity as evaluated by using the following equations based on a thermodynamic model of light scattering:

where λ is the wavelength of light in vacuum, ρ is the specific density of water, n is the refractive index of water, T is the absolute temperature, k is the Boltzmann constant, β_T is the isothermal compressibility of water, δ is the depolarization ratio, M_W is the molecular weight of water, S is the salinity, a_w is the activity of water, and

Term b_d  represents a contribution of density fluctuations to the scattering coefficient, while b_c represents a contribution of the salts concentration fluctuations. The values of the parameters of the above equations and expressions for their calculations are listed by Zhang X et al 2009 and Zhang X and Hu 2009 (see also a data file and a Matlab code). The broken line connects the salinity-dependent positions of minima of the scattering coefficient.   Redrawn by permission from Zhang X and Hu 2010. [XZ]