The inorganic and organic water constituents, often called
color-producing agents (CPAs), responsible for water color are generally
referred to as water quality parameters. Utilization of water color for
assessment of water quality parameters can be achieved by using the
established techniques in aquatic optics attained over many decades.
Aquatic optics can be subdivided according to whether the natural water
body is salty (marine), inland or fresh (limnological), or coastal
(often brackish). The authors describe the transformation of water color
under varying natural and anthropogenically-driven conditions and, for
the first time in a quantitative manner, a closed circle of issues
related to remote sensing of water quality in optically complex waters
generally inherent to inland and marine coastal waters. Primarily, the
text synthesizes the solutions of problems in remote sensing,
incorporating mathematics, hydrobiology/hydochemistry, atmospheric
optics and ecology.