Propagation of Radiation in a Scattering and Absorbing Medium

Abstract

It is assumed that collimated radiation i₀ and diffuse radiation a₀ are incident on the upper surface of a horizontal slab of a medium which scatters and absorbs the radiation. The slab is infinite in horizontal directions and of thickness t in the vertical direction; r is the reflectivity of the lower surface. Equations are derived for a and b, where at a distance x below the upper surface a and b are the streams of radiation flowing downward and upward, respectively. With appropriate assumptions the equations are reduced to relations that refer to the optics of the sea and the sky.