Can the SOI/MDI Detect White Light Flares?

We examine flares observed jointly with high spatial resolution by the SOHO instrument the Solar Oscillation Investigation/Michelson Doppler Imager (SOI/MDI) and the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE). These include a GOES X1.1 class flare on 6 June 2000 and an X5.7 flare on 14 July 2000. The June flare data provide a unique set of line profiles across the flare site which help us better understand potential instrumental effects in the SOI/MDI response to flares. We locate the photospheric footpoints of the flares in both the SOI/MDI and TRACE intensity images and examine their relationship with the magnetograms. We also show that some flare kernels show emission in both the line and the continuum in SOI/MDI data.