Apparent optical properties of the sea illuminated by Sun and sky: case of the optically deep sea

The influence of illumination by direct sunlight and the diffuse light of the sky on the apparent optical properties of seawater are studied. This study is based on the earlier self-consistent approach for solution of the radiative transfer equation. The resulting set of equations couples diffuse reflectance and diffuse attenuation coefficients and other apparent optical properties of the sea with inherent optical properties of seawater and parameters of illumination by the Sun and the sky. The resulting equations in their general form are valid for any possible values of absorption and backscattering coefficients.