Welcome

Welcome to the 25th(!) Ocean Optics 25th Conference. We are delighted to invite you to the beautiful city of Norfolk, Virginia on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The committee is hard at work building an agenda featuring informative oral and poster sessions, town halls, and short courses. The program is diverse; over five days you will hear the best of what our field has produced over the last two years with a mix of what has been accomplished since the conference started 25 years ago. Conference presentations include the science of optics across all aquatic environments, research, and applications. We attract a diverse audience of active practitioners in this field including oceanographers, ecologists, limnologists, optical engineers, resource managers, and policy professionals from around the world. There are plenary and oral presentations during the day, as well as an ability to interact with colleagues during scientific poster sessions. The conference traditionally holds a banquet near the end of the week where attendees experience local food and entertainment in addition to the announcement of the Jerlov Award and Best Student Paper awards. This conference supports students and early career colleagues, providing them with a platform to present their work, and welcoming them into our community. As a professional society, The Oceanography Society (TOS) is committed to supporting a community that encourages the open expression and exchange of ideas, that is free from all forms of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, and that is welcoming to all members and to those who participate in its activities. Finally, we would also like to thank our sponsors and exhibitors, without whom this conference would not be possible. On behalf of the planning committee, we encourage you to attend the next Ocean Optics Conference, celebrate the 25th anniversary, and share your work!

Blake, Schaeffer (co-chair), Environmental Protection Agency, USA
Hayley Evers-King (co-chair), Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK

The Conference

Ocean optics attracts a diverse audience of active practitioners in this field, including oceanographers, marine ecologists, limnologists, optical engineers, marine resource managers, and policy professionals from around the world.

Conference presentations will include the science of optics across all aquatic environments, research, and applications, including (but not limited to) biogeochemistry, environmental management and applications, instruments, techniques and observational systems, remote sensing, phytoplankton ecology, radiative transfer and optical theory, global change, and benthic processes. Attendees will attend plenary presentations during the day and interact with colleagues during scientific poster session receptions held in the exhibit/poster hall in the early evening.

In addition to invited and contributed oral and poster presentations, the conference will provide the opportunity for community-wide discussions in the form of town halls, workshops, and short courses. Small group meetings are also convened providing attendees with the opportunity to meet with collaborators or fellow committee members.