Seventy percent of the earth s surface are covered by the oceans. This area is much more difficult of access than the land surface. Therefore, its investigation is particularly challenging even nowadays, and at the same time highly attractive. This is also due to the fact that marine research is characterised by interdisciplinary work that includes biological and chemical methods, which is scarcely found in other fields of physics. Our working group is active in marine research with emphasis on the development and application of optical methods.
Water is highly transparent in the visible portion of the spectrum.
Dissolved and suspended substances in water lead to absorption and scattering. Applications of these methods can be found in marine physics, biology, chemistry, and marine surveillance. This instrument is routinely used as part of the sensor package of a surveillance aircraft of the German Ministry of Transport. The goal is to detect chemicals in the water column following accidental discharges and to inspect lost cargo containers with harmful loads on the sea floor. The vehicle is remotely operated from board of the ship, and data are displayed in real time.