Is There a Last Photon?
In short: Sunlight in the ocean is absorbed and scattered until it thins away through the twilight zone, and the sources describe its final reach near 1,000 metres in different ways.
A 1:56 short film in the series “The Ocean”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “Why is the ocean blue?”; NOAA National Ocean Service (U.S. Department of Commerce), “How far does light travel in the ocean?”; NOAA Ocean Exploration / Deep Ocean Education Project (created with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation), “Factsheet: Light and Color in the Deep Sea”; IOP Publishing (IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science; paper by B Nababan, D Ulfah and J P Panjaitan, 2021), “Light propagation, coefficient attenuation, and the depth of one optical depth in different water types”; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, “Twilight zone | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution”; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, “Explore the OTZ - Twilight Zone”; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce – JetStream educational site, “Layers of the Ocean”; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Oceanus magazine), “Shedding Light on Light in the Ocean | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution”; PLOS (PLOS ONE), “The Influence of Photoreceptor Size and Distribution on Optical Sensitivity in the Eyes of Lanternfishes (Myctophidae)”; NOAA Ocean Exploration (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce), “How does pressure impact animals in the ocean? - NOAA Ocean Exploration”; National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “How does pressure change with ocean depth?”; National Deep Submergence Facility (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), “Capabilities - National Deep Submergence Facility”; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, “HOV Alvin - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution”; Internet Archive (catalogue record for William Beebe's 1934 book "Half Mile Down", published by Harcourt, Brace and Company), “Half mile down : Beebe, William, 1877-1962 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive”; Smithsonian Magazine (Smithsonian Institution), “Inside the First Deep-Sea Dive in History”.
Sources used in this film
- National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — Why is the ocean blue? · View →
- NOAA National Ocean Service (U.S. Department of Commerce) — How far does light travel in the ocean? · View →
- NOAA Ocean Exploration / Deep Ocean Education Project (created with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation) — Factsheet: Light and Color in the Deep Sea · View →
- IOP Publishing (IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science; paper by B Nababan, D Ulfah and J P Panjaitan, 2021) — Light propagation, coefficient attenuation, and the depth of one optical depth in different water types · View →
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — Twilight zone | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution · View →
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — Explore the OTZ - Twilight Zone · View →
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce – JetStream educational site — Layers of the Ocean · View →
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Oceanus magazine) — Shedding Light on Light in the Ocean | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution · View →
- PLOS (PLOS ONE) — The Influence of Photoreceptor Size and Distribution on Optical Sensitivity in the Eyes of Lanternfishes (Myctophidae) · View →
- NOAA Ocean Exploration (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce) — How does pressure impact animals in the ocean? - NOAA Ocean Exploration · View →
- National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — How does pressure change with ocean depth? · View →
- National Deep Submergence Facility (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) — Capabilities - National Deep Submergence Facility · View →
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution — HOV Alvin - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution · View →
- Internet Archive (catalogue record for William Beebe's 1934 book "Half Mile Down", published by Harcourt, Brace and Company) — Half mile down : Beebe, William, 1877-1962 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive · View →
- Smithsonian Magazine (Smithsonian Institution) — Inside the First Deep-Sea Dive in History · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): Why is the ocean blue?
- Also: How far does light travel in the ocean?
- Also: NOAA Ocean Exploration / Deep Ocean Education Project (with the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation): Factsheet: Light and Color in the Deep Sea
- Also: IOP Publishing (IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science; paper by B Nababan, D Ulfah and J P Panjaitan, 2: Light propagation, coefficient attenuation, and the depth of one optical depth in different water types
- Also: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: Twilight zone | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Also: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: Explore the OTZ - Twilight Zone
- Also: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce — JetStream: Layers of the Ocean
- Also: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Oceanus): Shedding Light on Light in the Ocean | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Also: PLOS (PLOS ONE): The Influence of Photoreceptor Size and Distribution on Optical Sensitivity in the Eyes of Lanternfishes (Myctophidae)
- Also: NOAA Ocean Exploration (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce): How does pressure impact animals in the ocean? - NOAA Ocean Exploration
- Also: National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): How does pressure change with ocean depth?
- Also: National Deep Submergence Facility (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), sponsored by the National Science Foundation,: Capabilities - National Deep Submergence Facility
- Also: HOV Alvin - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Also: Internet Archive (catalogue record for William Beebe's 1934 book "Half Mile Down", published by Harcourt, Brace and Comp: Half mile down : Beebe, William, 1877-1962 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
- Also: Smithsonian Magazine (Smithsonian Institution): Inside the First Deep-Sea Dive in History
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