Nils Jerlov

Nils Gunnar Jerlov (1909–1990) was a Swedish oceanographer, physicist, scientist, and researcher who studied how light interacts with water.

He worked at the Swedish Fisheries Board from 1948 to 1958, at the Oceanographic Institute from 1957 to 1961, and managed a laboratory in oceanography in Gothenburg in 1961.

[2] Aboard the Albatross expedition in the 1940s, Jerlov began to observe the variability in the color and light-absorbing properties of ocean waters.

[8] Jerlov water types are used by researchers in many fields to understand the heat content and transparency of lakes, rivers, estuaries, and oceans.

[9][10] The Oceanography Society presents an award in Jerlov's honor every two years to a prominent researcher in the field of ocean optics.

The Jerlov Award is presented at the Ocean Optics conference with support from the NASA and the U.S. Office of Naval Research, with a pin designed by Judith Munk.

Light transmittance of different Jerlov water types over the visible light spectrum.
Light attenuation of different Jerlov water types over the visible light spectrum.
Jerlov is well known for his classification of water types by their color and optical properties.