Abstract

Measurements of the absorption of ocean water for monochromatic light throughout the visible spectrum are recorded and show that the sea water is about as transparent as pure water. When daylight is passed through 40 meters of water the resulting spectral intensity curve is very similar to the visibility curve of the eye both as regards shape and the position of the maximum. Early life on the earth developed in a watery environment with a vaporous atmosphere. This permits the suggestion that the visibility curve of the eye owes its general characteristics to the spectral intensity curve of Palaeozoic daylight.

© 1926 Optical Society of America

The Fundamentals of Glare and Visibility

L. L. Holladay
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 12(4) 271-319 (1926)

The Penetration of Ultraviolet Light into Pure Water and Sea Water*

E. O. Hulburt
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 17(1) 15-22 (1928)

Transparency of Ocean Water*

F. A. Jenkins and I. S. Bowen
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 36(11) 617-623 (1946)

The Chromatic Aberration of the Eye, the Chromatic Variations in the Interval of Sturm, and Allied Phenomena as Determined by a Subjective Method of Skiascopy*

Charles Sheard
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 12(2) 79-118 (1926)

The Variation of Visual Sensory Reflex Action with Intensity of Stimulation*

Frank Allen
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 13(4) 383-430 (1926)