Lidar measurement of the attenuation coefficient of natural waters

This paper illustrates a method for the remote measurement of the attenuation coefficient of natural water as a function of wavelength. This measurement is carried out with a fluorescence lidar system which has both spectral and temporal resolution, thus allowing the remote monitoring of volume targets, such as water column profiles. This fluorescence lidar has been designed and developed by the authors in view of an automatic operation from ship or buoy.