Bio-Optical Research Group
Equipment/Facilities

Field instruments provide a full suite of bio-optical measurements needed for in situ characterization of the submarine light environment and for radiative transfer modeling:

Measures downwelling spectral (400 to 750 nm) irradiance (in air) at the sea surface and upwelling spectral radiance 0.65 m below the sea surface. These data are used to help estimate water leaving radiances at the sea surface.

(Image of the instrument before deployment on the Eastern Shore, the yellow float holds the instrument at the surface.)

HyperPro Profiling Spectroradiometer (Satlantic Inc)

Provides spectral measurements similar to the HTSRB at the sea surface, as well as through the water column. Resolution of this instrument is approximately 3.3nm.

HyperSAS Surface Acquisition System (Satlantic Inc)

Provides above-water measurements of ocean colour, an irradiance sensor makes sky downwelling measurements while two concurrently mounted radiance sensors measure incident and water leaving radiance. A second older instrument MultiSAS makes the same measurement at 13 bands.

(HyperSAS: The HyperSAS and MultiSAS co-mounted on the Chesapeake Light Tower during a change over period from the old to the new system.)

(MulitSAS 13 channel instrument on top the flying bridge of the USCGC Healy in the Arctic.)

HydroRad 4 Spectroradiometer (HOBI Labs Inc)

Provides simultaneous spectral (400 - 750 nm) measures of upwelling plane irradiance, downwelling plane irradiance and scalar irradiance useful for characterizing the angular distribution of the submarine light field. It is also used in combination with the Diver-Operated Benthic Bio-Optical Spectrometer to measure spectral irradiances beneath submerged seagrass and giant kelp canopies.

Diver Operated Benthic Bio-Optical Spectrometer (DOBBS).

This instrument is a 3-channel HydroRad spectroradiometer modified to be operated by a SCUBA diver to make in situ spectral (400-750 nm) measurements of downwelling and upwelling irradiances beneath submerged plant canopies.

(DOBBS being deployed by a diver on the Bahamas Banks)

Absorption and attenuation meters are used to measure various aspects of the inherent optical properties of natural waters:

ac-9 plus (Wetlabs Inc).

We have 2 separately configured packages based on the ac-9. One package contains 2 ac-9 spectrophotometers configured to operate in unfiltered (total a and c) and filtered (aCDOM only) modes in tandem. The package also contains a SeaBird CTD and Hydroscat-6 backscatter meter. The other package contains a single ac-9 spectrophotometer, a SeaBird CTD an eco-VSF meter and an Eco-FL 3 channel fluorometer.

(In dual configuration in optics cage with Hydroscat 6 mounted at the bottom.)

ECO VSF (Wetlabs Inc)

Measures the optical scattering at three distinct angles, providing information on the shape of the volume scattering function throughout the backscattering region

ECO-FL fluorometer (Wetlabs, Inc)

Measures fluorescence of chlorophyll a (Ex/Em 470/695), phycoerytherin (Ex/Em 540/570) and CDOM (Ex/Em 370/460)

Hydroscat HS-6 (HOBILabs Inc)

Measures the backscattering coefficient at 6 wavelengths in the visible

ECO-FL fluorometer (Wetlabs, Inc)

Measures fluorescence of chlorophyll a (Ex/Em 470/695), phycoerytherin (Ex/Em 540/570) and CDOM (Ex/Em 370/460)

Other Equipments:

Optics Van:

This is a specially converted shipping container, which houses our moveable optics lab. Generally it is shipped to the vessel on which we are undertaking our research.

(Outside and inside of the Optics Van)