Dr. Dierssen leads the Coastal Ocean Laboratory for Optics and Remote Sensing at the University of Connecticut (www.colors.uconn.edu) and has a joint appointment in Marine Sciences and Geography. Her CV can be found HERE. Our current projects involve optics and remote sensing of the coastal zone ranging from Long Island Sound to the Southern Ocean using hyperspectral techniques. We are developing algorithms to use remotely sensing imagery to quantify phytoplankton community composition, benthic habitats in optically shallow waters, and to assess biogeographical distributions of organisms. We are also involved in research assessing microplastics on the sea surface, backscattering, particle size distributions and bubbles. Our laboratory has a variety of equipment for measuring optical and physical properties of the water column that can be loaned out to interested students or investigators. My current research projects, provided in more detail on my laboratory webpage (www.colors.uconn.edu), include: