During springtime voyages of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) in the East Antarctic sea-ice zone, October-November 1988 and 1996, spectral albedo was measured in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared, from 320 to 1060 nm wavelength. The surface types sampled were water, grease ice, pancakes, nilas, snow-covered nilas, grey ice, snow-covered first-year ice, bare fast ice, snow-covered fast ice, and tabular icebergs. For thin ice types the albedo and transmission measurements were made from a basket hanging from the ship's crane, and albedo measurements also from a helicopter. The spectral absorptance is estimated from combined measurements of reflectance and transmittance. Ice samples were collected for measurement of absorptive constituents, for an independent determination of the vertical profile of solar absorption by organic matter from algal growth in the ice. The organic matter increases the absorptance of the ice at ultraviolet and blue wavelengths, mostly at the expense of transmittance, causing little reduction of albedo