Ocean Optics Summer Class

Ocean Optics Summer ClassCalibration and validation for ocean color remote sensing

11 - 29 July 2011 at the Darling Marine Center

An intensive three-week, cross-disciplinary, graduate-level course in optical oceanography and
ocean color remote sensing will be offered at the University of Maine's Darling Marine Center in
July 2011. 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 Marine Center. Past
graduates are many of today's leaders in oceanography.

The major theme of this year's course is vicarious calibration of satellite-based ocean color
radiometers using Earth-based measurements and the use of in-situ optical sensors for validation
of products derived from ocean color remote sensing. The course will provide students with a
fundamental knowledge of ocean optics and optical sensor technology that will enable them to
make quality measurements, be able to assess the uncertainties associated with the measurements,
and compare the resulting data with remotely sensed ocean color measurements and products
derived from them. 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 light interaction with matter in aquatic environments,
inversions of ocean color remote sensing data, sensor design and function, and ocean
biogeochemistry;
* laboratory training in use of optical instrumentation and radiative transfer software;
* 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, Curtis Mobley, Mary Jane Perry, Collin Roesler, Ken Voss and
Jeremy Werdell.

Dates: 11-29 July 2011

Costs: Tuition, room and board will be covered through a NASA grant for participants associated
with US institutions. Accepted foreign participants will be charged room and board ($1,340) and
tuition ($800, if interested in receiving 2 University of Maine graduate credits for the class).

Registration deadline: April 1st, 2011 with notification by April 15, 2011.

Acceptance criteria: Likely impact of the class on the individual's career, letter from the
candidate, 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: www.dmc.maine.edu/coursesUM.html