Light scattering property of bubble in absorbing sea water

New form of Mie series which is suitable for particle scattering in an absorbing medium is demonstrated. Both single-bubble-scattering properties and phase function of bubbles in the absorbing sea water are researched based on Mie theory. At the same time, the influences of the imaginary part of the refractive index of sea water on light scattering properties of the bubble are analyzed. The results show that enhancement of bubble backscattering at 180° is an inherent optical property of the bubble and has nothing to do with the surrounding medium, and thus can be used to detect the bubble in the absorbing and non-absorbing sea water.