Bioluminescence in the ocean can, to a reasonable approximation, be regarded as originating in point sources of light. In addition, submerged artificial point sources can be used to measure the absorption coefficients of seawater. To arrive at a better quantitative understanding of these phenomena, a theoretical and computer modeling study has been carried out of the nature of the light field around an underwater point source as determined by the inherent optical properties of the seawater. It has been shown that the radial attenuation coefficient for net outward plane irradiance due solely to absorption and scattering (i.e., setting aside inverse square law attenuation) can satisfactorily be expressed as a function of the IOP by K _E ^ab (av) = [a ² + 1.5(1 − _s )ab]. In addition to providing a predictive tool for the light field around bioluminescent events, this relationship makes possible more accurate determination of absorption coefficients using submerged point sources of light.