Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the third edition
- Part I The underwater light field
- 1 Concepts of hydrologic optics
- 2 Incident solar radiation
- 3 Absorption of light within the aquatic medium
- 4 Scattering of light within the aquatic medium
- 5 Characterizing the underwater light field
- 6 The nature of the underwater light field
- 7 Remote sensing of the aquatic environment
- Part II Photosynthesis in the aquatic environment
- References and author index
- Index to symbols
- Index to organisms
- Index to water bodies
- Subject index
- Plate Section
3 - Absorption of light within the aquatic medium
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 January 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface to the third edition
- Part I The underwater light field
- 1 Concepts of hydrologic optics
- 2 Incident solar radiation
- 3 Absorption of light within the aquatic medium
- 4 Scattering of light within the aquatic medium
- 5 Characterizing the underwater light field
- 6 The nature of the underwater light field
- 7 Remote sensing of the aquatic environment
- Part II Photosynthesis in the aquatic environment
- References and author index
- Index to symbols
- Index to organisms
- Index to water bodies
- Subject index
- Plate Section
Summary
Having discussed how the solar radiation gets through the water surface, we shall now consider what happens to it within the water. Sooner or later most of the photons are absorbed: how this happens, and which components of the medium are responsible, form the subjects of this chapter.
The absorption process
The energy of a molecule can be considered to be part rotational, part vibrational and part electronic. A molecule can only have one of a discrete series of energy values. Energy increments corresponding to changes in a molecule's electronic energy are large, those corresponding to changes in vibrational energy are intermediate in size and those corresponding to changes in rotational energy are small. This is indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 3.1. When molecules collide with each other in the liquid or gaseous state, or are in contact with each other in the solid state, there can be transfer of rotational or vibrational energy between molecules and this is accompanied by transitions from one rotational or vibrational energy level to another within each molecule.
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- Light and Photosynthesis in Aquatic Ecosystems , pp. 50 - 97Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010
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