Abstract
We describe the performance of an inexpensive but highly sensitive light backscattering sensor (LBSS) suitable for use in deep-sea waters, where particle concentrations are typically <∼0.1 mg/l. Laboratory calibrations using aluminosilicate particles and latex spheres show that the concentration-normalized backscattering of the LBSS, K bs, is greatest for particles with a diameter close to the wavelength of light emitted by the LBSS (0.88 μm), declining by more than a factor of five for particles <0.1 μm or >10 μm. Field studies indicate that in hydrothermal plumes dominated by fine-grained metal precipitates the 95% confidence interval for predicting mass concentration with an LBSS ranges from ±0.004 mg/l for 0.03 mg/l suspensions to ±0.008 mg/l at 0.12 mg/l. Comparisons among a group of 19 LBSSs found between-instrument variability to reach 70%, but normalizing the raw data using a laboratory calibration procedure reduced the maximum variability to ∼8%.
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