Advances in ocean optical modeling and sensor design, coupled with the development of autonomous sampling platforms, have provided the oceanographic community with unprecedented opportunities to measure, monitor and investigate the processes that control the interaction of light with the ocean and its boundaries. Increases in measurement accuracy, optimizations in sensor specifications (power, size, weight, cost, and maintenance), the expanded range in temporal and spatial scales over which such measurements can be made, and the speed at which solutions to radiance-based optical models can be obtained, coupled with a national commitment to monitoring the coastal ocean and international interest in measuring the state of the global ocean have ushered in what could arguably be called the golden age of ocean optics research and application.

Ackleson, S. 2001. Ocean optics research at the start of the 21st century. Oceanography 14(3):5–8, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2001.19.

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