Eur. Phys. J. C 25, 67-75 (2002)
DOI: 10.1007/s10052-002-01015-x

Optical background measurement in a potential site for the NEMO KM ³ undersea neutrino telescope

F. Ameli^{1, 2}, M. Bonori^{1, 2} and F. Massa<sup>1

1</sup>  Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di "Roma 1", 00133 Roma, Italy
²  Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Dipartimento di Fisica, 00185 Roma, Italy

(Received: 20 April 2002 / Published online: 26 July 2002 )

Abstract
We describe the measurement of the deep sea optical background in some sites south of Capo Passero, Sicily. A continuous flux of about 440 photons cm^-2 s^-1 in the wavelength interval 440-550 nm is estimated due to the decays of the ⁴⁰K contained in the sea water. Bioluminescence light bursts are also observed and an example of time evolution is reported. All the measurements were accomplished using a deep sea module also described in this article.

© Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2002