THE THERMAL SKIN LAYER OF THE OCEAN PLAYS A FUNDAMENTAL ROLE IN AIR-SEA EXCHANGES. IT IS THROUGH THE THERMAL SKIN LAYER THAT ALL OF THE HEAT THAT LEAVES THE OCEAN TO THE ATMOSPHERE IS CONDUCTED. THE HEAT AND MOISTURE THAT THE OCEAN DELIVERS TO THE ATMOSPHERE THAT DETERMINES MUCH OF THE WORLD S WEATHER AND CLIMATE PASSES THROUGH THE OCEAN THERMAL SKIN LAYER. THE VISCOUS AND THERMAL SKIN LAYERS RESPOND TO THE SURFACE MOMENTUM AND NET HEAT FLUXES AND ARE THUS BOTH THE CONDUIT AND BOTTLENECK OF THESE FLUXES. AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF THE BEHAVIOR OF THE THERMAL SKIN LAYER WILL RESULT IN BETTER QUANTITATIVE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE COUPLING OF THE OCEAN AND THE ATMOSPHERE. OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO ESTABLISH THE ACCURACY AND LIMITATIONS OF MEASURING THE PROFILE OF TEMPERATURE THROUGH THE THERMAL SKIN LAYER ON THE AQUEOUS SIDE OF THE AIR-WATER INTERFACE USING THERMO-FLUORESCENT DYES. THIS IS A NOVEL REMOTE SENSING APPLICATION OF A TECHNIQUE THAT HAS FOUND APPLICATIONS IN OTHER AREAS. A SMALL NUMBER OF PROOF-OF-CONCEPT MEASUREMENTS HAVE BEEN TAKEN IN A LABORATORY SETTING TO ESTABLISH THAT THE APPROACH IS FEASIBLE AND THAT TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCES ON THE MICROMETER VERTICAL SCALE ARE EXPERIMENT TO STUDY THE THERMAL SKIN LAYER AT MICRON VERTICAL RESOLUTION. WHILE THE USE OF THERMO-FLUORESCENT DYES HAS A SUCCESSFUL HISTORY IN MANY RESEARCH AREAS WE BELIEVE THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY WILL BE USED TO STUDY THE MECHANISMS OF AIR-SEA INTERACTION AT THESE SMALL VERTICAL SCALES.