Abstract: The Bermuda BioOptics Project (BBOP) has been making bi- weekly to monthly profile observations of bio-optical as a component of the US JGOFS Bermuda Atlantic Time Series Study (BATS) since January of 1992. This five year record of apparent and inherent optical observations is, to be the best of our knowledge, the longest quasi-continuous, bio- optical time series made for any oceanic region. The foci for BBOP are to: 1) characterize upper ocean bio-optical property variability; temporally, spatially and spectrally, 2) assess light availability and its utilization, 3) model primary production and other biogeochemical rates using bio- optical quantities and 4) provide the 'optical link' between BATS and satellite ocean color observations. Here, we will introduce BBOP, discuss briefly its sampling, data processing procedures and the availability of the BBOP data set. As an example of its utility, we will illustrate the role and implications of colored dissolved organic materials in the absorption and diffuse attenuation of light. !19
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