Fraunhofer line-dept sensing applied to water

Abstract

An experimental Fraunhofer line discriminator is basically an airborne fluorometer, capable of quantitatively measuring the concentration of fluorescent substances dissolved in water. It must be calibrated against standards and supplemented by ground-truth data on turbidity and on approximate vertical distribution of the fluorescent substance. Quantitative use requires that it be known in advance what substance is the source of the luminescence emission; qualitative sensing, or detection of luminescence is also possible. The two approaches are fundamentally different, having different purposes, different applications, and different instruments. When used for sensing of Rhodamine WT dye in coastal waters and estuaries, the FLD is sensing in the spectral region permitting nearly maximum depth of light penetration.