Optoacoustic spectroscopy and its application to molecular and particle absorption

Charles C. Trees; Kenneth John Voss

doi:10.1117/12.21441

1 September 1990 Optoacoustic spectroscopy and its application to molecular and particle absorption

Charles C. Trees, Kenneth John Voss

Proceedings Volume 1302, Ocean Optics X; (1990) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.21441
Event: 1990 Technical Symposium on Optics, Electro-Optics, and Sensors, 1990, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

Light absorption in the ocean has been the least studied optical property because of the difficulties in making accurate measurements. With the previously used techniques, large differences have been reported for the specific absorption coefficient of phytoplankton (cultures and natural assemblages). It is difficult to determine if the diversity in these values are methodological or a function of actual variations in absorption. With the renewed interest and activity in optoacoustic spectroscopy (OAS), which accurately measures absorption, some of these discrepancies should be resolved. In this method, as molecules and particles absorb light from a modulated source, they thermally expand and contract, thereby generating acoustic waves, at the modulation frequency, which are detected by a hydrophone. Optoacoustic spectroscopy is ideally suited for measuring dissolved organic material and particle absorptions because of its high sensitivity (105m1) and the egligible effect of scattered light. In this paper the instrumental design for an optoacoustic spectrophotometer (OAS), which pecifically measures phytoplankton absorption (420-S5Onm), is described. The spectral absorption of dissolved organic material and a phytoplankton culture is presented. OAS holds promise in being able to measure absorption without use of either filtration or concentration techniques.

Citation Download Citation

Charles C. Trees and Kenneth John Voss "Optoacoustic spectroscopy and its application to molecular and particle absorption", Proc. SPIE 1302, Ocean Optics X, (1 September 1990); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.21441

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