A DIVERSE GROUP OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS AND STUDENTS GATHER EVERY TWO YEARS AT THE OCEAN OPTICS CONFERENCE TO ADDRESS VIRTUALLY EVERY FACET OF OCEAN COLOR REMOTE SENSING AND OPTICAL OCEANOGRAPHY INCLUDING BASIC RESEARCH TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND POLICY. THIS EVENT PROVIDES PARTICIPANTS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT RESEARCH RESULTS RECEIVE VALUABLE FEEDBACK AND REFINE APPROACHES TO FUTURE COLLABORATIONS WITH INTERNATIONAL COLLEAGUES. THE 23RD CONFERENCE OCEAN OPTICS 23 WILL BE HELD IN VICTORIA BRITISH COLUMBIA CANADA FROM OCTOBER 23 -28 2016. THIS PROPOSAL SEEKS SUPPORT FOR SEVERAL CONFERENCE ACTIVITIES INCLUDING PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETINGS MANAGEMENT OF GRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL SUPPORT SCIENTIFIC POSTER SESSION ORGANIZATION AND PRESENTATION OF THE JERLOV AWARD AND BEST STUDENT PAPER AWARDS. CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES SUPPORT THE GOAL OF COLLECTING AND DISSEMINATING NEW OBSERVATIONS LISTED IN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY DETAILED IN SECTION 4.2 EARTH SCIENCES OF THE 2014 NASA SCIENCE PLAN. IN ADDITION TO PRESENTATIONS ON RECENT RESEARCH RESULTS WHICH TAKE PLACE DURING THE PLENARY AND POSTER SESSIONS AN IMPORTANT COMPONENT OF THE OCEAN OPTICS CONFERENCE IS THE INCLUSION OF SPECIAL EVENTS SUCH AS TOWN HALLS WORKSHOPS AND SHORT COURSES. ORGANIZERS OF THESE ACTIVITIES PRESENT DISCUSS PLANS AND ACTIVITIES FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE OCEAN COLOR MISSIONS SEE PAGE 55 TABLE 4.6 FUTURE EARTH SCIENCE STRATEGIC RESEARCH MISSIONS. PACE HYSPIRI AND GEO-CAPE WERE THREE VERY WELL ATTENDED TOWN HALL EVENTS HELD AT THE LAST CONFERENCE. PLANNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS EXPECT THAT THIS HIGH LEVEL OF INTEREST IN DISCUSSING CURRENT AND FUTURE NASA PROGRAMS WILL CONTINUE IN 2016. THE 2014 CONFERENCE HOSTED 381 PARTICIPANTS FROM 37 COUNTRIES. OVER 100 OF THESE PARTICIPANTS WERE GRADUATE STUDENTS. THE CONFERENCE FOLLOWS A SIMILAR FORMAT EACH YEAR SESSIONS ARE GENERALLY TOPICAL AND ARE COMPRISED OF INVITED OVERVIEW LECTURES AND CONTRIBUTED ABSTRACTS. ALL CONTRIBUTED ABSTRACTS UNDERGO A BLIND REVIEW AND RANKING PROCESS. THE COMMITTEE MEETS TO REVIEW THE RESULTS AND SELECTS A SUBSET OF ABSTRACTS FOR ORAL PRESENTATION. THE REMAINING ABSTRACTS ARE PRESENTED AS POSTERS DURING FOUR DEDICATED POSTER SESSIONS HELD THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. ALL POSTERS ARE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING ALL PROVIDING MAXIMUM EXPOSURE FOR THE AUTHORS. ANOTHER FEATURE OF THE OCEAN OPTICS CONFERENCE SERIES IS THE COMPILATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS. PARTICIPANTS ARE REQUESTED TO SUBMIT EXTENDED ABSTRACTS BASED ON THEIR INITIAL SUBMISSION AND THE COLLECTION OF SHORT ABSTRACTS AND EXTENDED ABSTRACTS ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO CONFERENCE ATTENDEES AS DOWNLOADABLE SEARCHABLE PDF FILES. OTHER SUPPORT FOR THE OCEAN OPTICS CONFERENCE SERIES IS DERIVED FROM ATTENDEE REGISTRATION FEES EXHIBITOR FEES CONTRIBUTIONS FROM INDUSTRY SCIENTIFIC AND EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND GRANTS FROM INTERNATIONAL OCEAN OPTICS AND REMOTE SENSING RESEARCH ACTIVITIES. OCEAN OPTICS 23 HAS RECEIVED SUPPORT FROM THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY AND THE JAPAN AEROSPACE EXPLORATION AGENCY IN RECENT YEARS AND IT IS EXPECTED THAT THESE ORGANIZATIONS AND POSSIBLY OTHERS WILL SUPPORT THE CONFERENCE IN 2016 AND BEYOND. JENNIFER RAMARUI COORDINATOR OF THE OCEAN OPTICS CONFERENCE SERIES WILL MANAGE ALL PROPOSED ACTIVITIES. SINCE 2000 MS. RAMARUI HAS MANAGED SEVERAL PROGRAMS FOR THIS CONFERENCE SERIES SUCH AS AWARDS STUDENT TRAVEL AND PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND IN 2014 TOOK ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MANAGING THE ENTIRE CONFERENCE.