Ocean optics: The next frontier

Abstract

With the recent decline in funding of ocean optics, it is time to rethink the areas of research that were once the "holy grail" of this very fruitful field. The research emphasis, once dominated by the study of pelagic regions of the oceans, has now shifted to the more turbid surf and littoral zones. Some new and innovative instrumentation for the measurement of certain inherent optical properties will be discussed. We will revisit the use of inelastic processes such as Raman and Brillouin scattering as tools to measure important quantities such as speed of sound, ocean temperature, and salinity as a function of depth, just to mention a few. The importance of polarimetry in ocean optics will also be elucidated. We will also show how femtosecond lasers can be used to generate filaments which can along with their supercontinuum light be used for hyperspectral sensing and also produce sound waves which may be used for bathymetry remote sensing. The use of Filament Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (FIBS) will also be shown to be a potentially viable tool for remotely determining many important quantities in riverine and estuarine environs. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.