Ocean Optics Summer Class:

Application of remote and in-situ ocean optical measurements to ocean
biogeochemistry

July 2 – 20, 2007 at the Darling Marine Center

An intensive three-week, cross-disciplinary, graduate-level course in
Optical Oceanography will be offered at the University of Maine,
Darling Marine Center in summer 2007. This class is a continuation of
the Optical Oceanography course first offered at the Friday Harbor
Laboratories in 1985 and more recently at the Darling Center. Past
graduates are many of today's leaders in oceanography.

The major theme of the course is the application of remote and in-situ
ocean optical measurements to ocean biogeochemistry. The underlying
rationale is that optical measurements serve as proxies for important
biogeochemical entities – including marine phytoplankton, dissolved
organics, and suspended sediment particles. The course will provide
students with a fundamental knowledge of ocean optics and sensor
technology that will enable them to interpret optical data in context
of ocean biogeochemistry. The course is sponsored by NASA and the
University of Maine, with the goal of preparing a new generation of
oceanographers trained in the use of optics to study the oceans.

Course elements include:
• lectures on the basic theory of the light interaction with matter in
aquatic environments, inversions of ocean color remote sensing, sensor
design and function, and ocean biogeochemistry;
• laboratory sessions using optical instrumentation and radiative
transfer software;
• critical discussions of concepts and key papers;
• field sampling of optical and biogeochemical variables in the
environmentally diverse waters of coastal Maine;
• analysis of optical and biogeochemical data sets; and
• collaborative student projects.

Instructors: Emmanuel Boss, Mary Jane Perry, Collin Roesler and
Curtis Mobley

Dates: July 2– 20, 2007

Costs: Tuition, room and board will be covered through a grant for
participants associated with US institutions. Accepted foreign
participants will be charged room and board ($1200) and tuition ($655,
if interested in taking the class for credit).
Registration deadline: March 15, 2007, notification by April 1, 2007.

Acceptance criteria: likely impact of the class on the individual's
career, transcripts, letter from the academic advisor/supervisor, and
diversity. While the majority of the class will likely be composed of
early career graduate students, advanced students and post-doctoral
fellows will be considered for admission.

Registration: http://server.dmc.maine.edu/courses.html