Spectral light absorption and attenuation measurements from a towed undulating vehicle

Measurements from a nine-wavelength light absorption and attenuation instrument mounted on a towed, undulating vehicle (SeaSoar) capable of rapidly profiling the water column – complete up-down cycles in 1.5–12 min depending on the maximum sampling depth – are used to characterize strong spatial variations in the distributions of upper-ocean bio-optical properties. Water sampled from adjacent to the conductivity and temperature sensors located in the nose of the vehicle is pumped through the 25-cm dual optical flow tubes of a Western Environmental Technology Laboratories (WET Labs) ac-9 instrument mounted on top of SeaSoar. A three-stage algorithm for post-processing the optical data to insure high-quality measurements concurrent with conductivity–temperature–depth data is described. After synchronizing the optical, navigational and conductivity–temperature–depth data streams, the method relies on finding the optimal time delay between when a water parcel is sampled first by the temperature and conductivity sensors and then by the absorption and attenuation optics. After applying the calculated time-dependent lag, a correction for the dependence of light absorption on temperature and salinity and a scattering correction to absorption are made. The final processed optical data from SeaSoar compare well with the same parameters sampled by a slowly lowered vertical profiling package deployed from a nearby stationary vessel. A 2-h, 30-km long cross-shelf section consisting of 184 vertical profiles separated by 150–200 m reveals strong horizontal variations on short spatial scales (1 km or less) of the vertical distributions of bio-optical properties.