Colloquium: Dr. Xiaodong Zhang | University of Southern Mississippi

TITLE:  Why is the ocean blue?

ABSTRACT: The deep blue color of the ocean is one of the most familiar, yet also one of the rarest, colors on Earth. Many prominent scientists, including Lord Rayleigh and C. V. Raman, sought to unravel the mystery behind this captivating feature of the ocean, leading to applications of the Einstein–Smoluchowski theory of fluctuations. Yet, despite more than a century of scientific inquiry, important questions remain. This talk will explore the science behind the ocean’s blue color and ask: What are the remaining keys to fully understanding the remarkable diversity of shades that make up the blue ocean?

BIO: Dr. Xiaodong Zhang earned his B.S. in Computer Science from Nanjing University,
China, and his Ph.D. in Oceanography from Dalhousie University, Canada. After 17
years at the University of North Dakota, he joined the University of Southern Mississippi,
where he is an Endowed Chair and Professor of Marine Science in the School of Ocean
Science and Engineering.

Dr. Zhang’s research focuses on the interaction of light with aquatic environments and
the characterization of water constituents and their dynamics using multiple properties
of light, including spectral absorption, angular scattering, and polarization. His research
has received nearly $50 million in funding from federal and state agencies, including
NASA and NSF, and has resulted in more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and
book chapters. He has served on the Science and Applications Team for NASA’s
Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission since 2014 and has
participated in NASA’s Export Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing
(EXPORTS) program since 2017. He has also served on numerous review panels and
expert committees for NSF, NASA, and the European Space Agency.