Shedding new light on light in the ocean

Abstract

Light drives the physics, chemistry, and biology of the ocean. Without light in the ocean, life on Earth could not exist, nor would there be fuel for the heat engine that drives the ocean's currents and the atmosphere's circulation. Furthermore, light and sound are the two primary means available for probing the ocean. (See the article by Tom Sanford, Kathie Kelly, and David Farmer in PHYSICS TODAY, February 2011, page 24.) © 2011 American Institute of Physics.