Spectral properties of natural and oil polluted Baltic seawater — results of measurements and modelling

Seawater in addition to natural components such as living and non-living organic matter contains also components artificially introduced into the marine environment, such as oil substances. These components, present in the surface layer of the sea, can significantly affect radiative transfer processes. Therefore, taking into account these processes in remote sensing measurements can improve assessment of the environment. To improve local seawater optical models, it is necessary to measure the luminescence properties of all components of seawater as well as the water leaving radiance values. Additionally, substances which form the surface microlayer (surfactants — surface active agents) can affect both the dynamic characteristics of the fluxes (in particular the gas exchange and marine aerosol production) as well as inherent optical properties of surface seawater. This paper contains both the results of research focused on introducing of an efficient method for identifying oils by their fluorescence spectra as well as a marine experiment on the identification of luminescent properties of surfactants — sampled in different regions of the Baltic Sea. Moreover, the aim of the presented study is to assess the impact of the oil emulsion to spectral water leaving signal. Those results are obtained both from running Monte Carlo radiative transfer code and from approximated formulas.