Light and Color in the Ocean

Undergraduate / Graduate

Spectacular optical adaptations shape marine life, from sunlit shallows to the deep sea. We will explore how ocean creatures manipulate light-becoming transparent, ultra-black, iridescent, vividly colored, or bioluminescent-through the lens of physics, photosynthesis, and visual systems. With morning lectures, afternoon hands-on work, local outings, and a final research project, students will learn the physics and biology of light in the ocean. We encourage students to develop publishable original research projects using the fantastic resources of the MBL.