Observation of non-principal plane neutral points in the in-water upwelling polarized light field

Neutral points are specific directions in the light field where the three Stokes parameters Q, U, V, and thus the degree of polarization simultaneously go to zero. We have made the first measurement of nonprincipal-plane neutral points in the upwelling light field in natural waters. These neutral points are located at approximately 40°- 80° nadir angle and between 120° - 160° azimuth to the sun which is well off of the principal plane. Calculations show that the neutral point positions are very sensitive to the balance in the incident light between the partially polarized skylight and the direct solar beam.