Patent ID: 6879397

Claim:
An apparatus for measuring near-forward scattering of ambient water comprising: a housing member having an interior and elongate openings extending nearly its length between disc-shaped end caps, said elongate openings allowing ambient water to flow freely into and fill said interior extending between said end caps; a source of light mounted in said interior on one end cap of said housing member to emit a beam of light along an axis extending through water filling said interior; and a scattering detector assembly mounted in said interior on the other end cap of said housing member a predetermined distance from said light source, said detector assembly having a central active region disposed in said axis to receive portions of said beam of light emitted along said axis and a plurality of concentric active regions located radially outwardly from said central active region and said axis to receive scattered portions of said beam of light, said central active region and said concentric active regions providing signals representative of magnitudes of said axial portions and scattered portions of said beam of light.