Photo-electric Measurements of Submarine Illumination throughout the Year

Abstract

Measurements were made, throughout the year 1928, of the penetration of daylight into sea-water in the English Channel. One vacuum and two gas-filled potassium photo-electric cells were used below water. In all save the first series an efficient diffusing surface was used with the photometers so that the corrections for obliquity of illumination, necessary in our earlier work, were rendered almost negligible. From October onwards a more sensitive gas-filled cell was available for use, together with a more powerful amplifier and a more efficient insulation of the high-tension batteries; improvements in the switching of the photometers on and off were also incorporated.The following conclusions have been reached :—1. The conclusions put forward tentatively in 1928, concerning the agreement between the vacuum and gas-filled cells, have been substantiated in the main, although the vacuum photometer, which is relatively more sensitive to the blue end of the spectrum, generally indicated rather higher opacities.2. There are no regular seasonal changes in the opacity of the water. A very high opacity occurred in the autumn of 1927, but this was not repeated in 1928.3. On one occasion, in April 1928, an unusual degree of clearness of the water has been shown to have been associated with the influx of water of lesser salinity, from further out in the Channel. The clearness of the water at El in December, 1927, and September, 1928, is probably due to an influx of clearer water, though the salinity changes indicating this are not so well marked.