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A technique has been developed that leads to an optical classification of natural waters in terms of the dissolved and suspended biogenous material present. As a first approximation, this classification has been made in terms of the total chlorophyll‐like pigment concentration.

A relationship between the spectral diffuse attenuation coefficient for irradiance and the chlorophyll‐like pigment concentration has been found with spectral irradiance data from diverse types of ocean waters. The specific spectral attenuation coefficient due to phytoplankton is shown to be consistent with laboratory measurements of the diffuse absorption coefficient of various lot cultures of phytoplankton.