Briggs Nathan T, Slade Wayne H, Boss Emmanuel, Perry Mary Jane
Appl Opt. 2013 Sep 20;52(27):6710-25. doi: 10.1364/AO.52.006710.
The ability to estimate mean particle size using simple, low-power optical instruments promises to greatly expand coverage of particle size measurements in the ocean and advance understanding of myriad processes from sediment transport to biological carbon sequestration. Here we present a method for estimating the mean diameter of particles in suspension from high-resolution time series of simple optical measurements, such as beam attenuation or optical backscattering. Validation results from a laboratory clay aggregation experiment show a good fit with independent mean particle diameter estimates in the 10-80 μm diameter range, with relative biases of 17%-38% and relative root mean square errors of 10%-24%. In the 80-200 μm range, quantitative validation data were not available, but our mean diameter estimates correlated strongly with particle settling rates.
利用简单的低功率光学仪器估算平均粒径的能力有望大幅扩大海洋中粒径测量的覆盖范围，并推动人们对从沉积物输运到生物碳固存等无数过程的理解。在此，我们提出一种方法，可根据简单光学测量（如光束衰减或光背散射）的高分辨率时间序列来估算悬浮颗粒的平均直径。实验室黏土团聚实验的验证结果表明，在直径为10 - 80μm的范围内，该方法与独立的平均粒径估算值拟合良好，相对偏差为17% - 38%，相对均方根误差为10% - 24%。在80 - 200μm范围内，没有定量验证数据，但我们的平均直径估算值与颗粒沉降速率密切相关。
