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Colloquium: Dr. Robert Foster, US Naval Research Laboratory

In-Person PHYS 401

Location

Physics : 401

Date & Time

November 2, 2022, 3:30 pm4:30 pm

Description

TITLE: Towards Optical Characterization of Marine Microplastic Pollution

ABSTRACT: This presentation will discuss work by the Naval Research Laboratory to measure and characterize the inherent optical properties of oceanic hydrosols, specifically marine microplastic pollution. We will cover recent efforts to build up a library of inherent optical properties of microplastic suspensions, including sample preparation, instrumentation, and measurement limitations. We will compare our measurements with a selection of natural seawater samples and identify distinguishing features. We will discuss a technique for filling in some measurement gaps, such as the scattering Mueller matrix for hydrosols, and show how we acquire it using a passive polarimeter designed for atmospheric remote sensing.