Fig. 1
Attenuation (dB/m) of electromagnetic (EM) radiation in sea water plotted as a function of frequency (Hz) and wavelength (nm) of that radiation. The narrow band of electromagnetic energy which corresponds to visible light is shown, as are the bands used for radio and television transmission. The band of EM radiation we now consider visible light is transmitted through water with an attenuation 6 orders of magnitude less than that of adjacent wavelengths. Redrawn from Fernald [1].