The third International Ocean-Colour Coordinating Group (IOCCG) Summer Lecture Series, dedicated to high-level training in the fundamentals of ocean optics, bio-optics and ocean colour remote sensing will take place at the Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV), in Villefranche-sur-Mer, France from 18 to 30 July 2016. Participation is restricted to 20 students and is highly competitive.

Application Deadline: 15 March 2016 (strictly enforced)!

Overview

LOV is part of the Observatoire Océanologique de Villefranche (OOV), and hosts the Marine Optics and Remote Sensing group (MORS, www.obs-vlfr.fr/LOV/OMT/).

Several distinguished scientists will provide lectures on cutting edge research, focusing on current critical issues in ocean colour science. Students will be given ample opportunity to meet with the lecturers for in-depth discussions on various pre-selected topics, as well as on their own scientific research. The lecture series is open to young graduate scientists and post-doctoral fellows involved in any aspect of ocean-colour research. Students currently undertaking their PhD studies are also invited to apply. Reports of the previous 2014 IOCCG Summer Lecture Series and lecture synopses can be viewed at: www.ioccg.org/training/Report_SLS-2014.pdf.

Course content

The emphasis of the course will be on current critical issues in ocean colour science, and will consist of lectures by specialists as well as a few hands-on practical sessions. It is assumed that participants are familiar with downloading and processing satellite ocean colour imagery using SeaDAS and/or BEAM. Lectures will tentatively cover the following topics (final agenda to be provided at a later date):

• Inherent Optical Properties (IOPs; inversion and applications in coastal and open ocean waters)
• Errors and uncertainties in ocean colour remote sensing (emphasis on inverse modelling)
• Radiative transfer in the ocean: shallow water remote sensing and HydroLight training
• Atmospheric correction of ocean colour remote sensing observations
• Advanced ocean colour remote sensing products for ocean carbon cycle and biogeochemistry
• Optics from autonomous platforms: linking IOPs to biogeochemistry and remotely sensed ocean colour (including hands-on exercises)
• Phytoplankton variability and climate change
• Retrieving phytoplankton biomass and functional groups
• In situ measurements
• Ocean colour remote sensing in turbid coastal waters
• Optics of marine particles (phytoplankton, minerogenic particles, colloids, bubbles)

Tentative List of Teaching Staff

• Curtis Mobley (Sequoia Scientific Inc. WA, USA)
• John Hedley (Environmental Computer Science Ltd, Tiverton, Devon, UK)
• Emmanuel Boss (University of Maine, USA)
• Collin Roesler (Bowdoin University, USA)
• Dariusz Stramski (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA),
• Hervé Claustre (LOV Villefranche, France)
• Stephanie Dutkiewicz (MIT, USA)
• Heidi Dierssen (University of Connecticut, USA)
• Julia Uitz (LOV, Villefranche sur mer, France)
• Mike Twardowski (Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, USA)
• James Acker (Adnet Inc., NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data & Information Services Center, USA)
• Zhongping Lee (University of Massachusetts at Boston, MA, USA)
• Agnieszka Bialek (National Physical Laboratory, UK)
• Kevin Ruddick (RBINS, Belgium)
• Sergio Muacho (EUMETSAT, Germany)

Video Recordings of Lectures

Participation is restricted to 20 students and is highly competitive. Because of the limited number of students that can be accommodated, arrangements will be made for all the presentations to be video recorded, as was done for the previous lecture series (see Videos from 2014 Summer Lecture Series). This material provides a valuable training resource - these videos have been downloaded thousands of times by students from around the world.

Course Sponsors

The 2016 IOCCG Summer Lecture Series will be supported by IOCCG together with the following sponsors, which are gratefully acknowledged:

• CNRS/INSU (French National Center for Scientific Research)
• Villefranche Observatory (OOV)
• Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (LOV)
• CNES (French National Space Centre)
• GIS COOC (Groupement d'Intérêt Scientifique - COlour of the OCean)
• Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC)

Cost

There is no fee for the lecture series but students are expected to cover some of their own expenses to attend the course. Limited financial support and some free accommodation (shared double rooms and dormitories) will be available.

Call for Applications

The call for applications for the 2016 IOCCG Summer Lecture Series is now open. Prospective students are requested to complete the SLS-2016 application form below, available in either PDF or MS Word format:

• SLS-2016 Application Form (PDF) 
• SLS-2016 Application Form (MS Word)

The completed application form should be saved in the following format: Lastname-Firstname-2016-SLS.pdf (or docx), and submitted via email to: Elizabeth Gross, SLS Assistant Training Coordinator (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) with a copy to:

• David Antoine, SLS Training Coordinator (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and
• Venetia Stuart, IOCCG Scientific Coordinator (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Note: It is not necessary to physically sign the form - just indicate your agreement to attend the full lecture series, and submit the completed document via email, ensuring that the file naming convention is correct (i.e., starting with your last name).