Abstract:The underwater light field, both light intensity and quality, has a significant influence on phytoplankton abundance and photosynthetic activity in shallow lakes. Light conditions in the lake depended on the inherent optical properties of the water and the incident irradiance. In this study, underwater light climate, biological and optical properties in the highly turbid and eutrophic littoral region of Meiliang Bay in Lake Taihu were studied by applying in situ measurement data from 1998 to 1999 and total ...