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Ocean optics relates measured light in seawater to optical absorption, scattering of light and the underwater angular light field. Water, dissolved substances and suspended particles all contribute, so ocean color is not determined by one pigment concentration alone.

A transmission measurement through a known water path constrains beam attenuation; detectors at selected angles measure scattered light; an upward-looking instrument measures downwelling irradiance. These observables answer different questions. In particular, a diffuse attenuation coefficient includes angular redistribution and need not equal the material's absorption coefficient. Comparing several measurements helps separate mechanisms that one emerging optical spectrum cannot uniquely determine.