Discovering the Ocean from Space: The Unique Applications of Satellite Oceanography

ISBN-13: 9783662500019 / Angielski / Miękka / 2016 / 638 str.

Ian S. Robinson

Opis

The author's main research activity for the last 20 years as a researcher and an academic teacher of physical oceanography has been in the field of satellite oceanography. This unique book reflects the breadth of that knowledge. It is the first academic text devoted to describing and explaining the impact that satellite image data have made to our understanding of how the ocean behaves.

Spis treści

Introduction Methods of Satellite Oceanography Mesoscale ocean features: eddies Mesoscale ocean features: fronts Mesoscale ocean features: upwelling and other phenomena Planetary waves and large-scale ocean dynamics Ocean biology from Space Ocean surface waves Winds over the sea Fluxes through the air-sea interface Large ocean phenomena with a human impact Internal waves Shelf seas, estuaries and coasts Putting ocean remote sensing to work

Blurb

The remote sensing of oceans from space has developed rapidly since 1978 when the first dedicated ocean viewing sensors were launched. In 1991 the first European Space Agency remote sensing satellite carried sensors primarily for the ocean, heralding the widespread use of satellite date by oceanographes. In the mid 1990's the US/French TOPEX-Poseidon mission revolutionised the performance of satellite altimetry and since 1997 NASA's SeaWiFs mission has delivered operational measurements of ocean colour. The new millennium has seen the launch of several very large remote sensing platforms ans a number of smaller missions by ESA, NASA and NASDA, providing almost comprehensive worldwide measurements of sea surface waves and wind, temperature, colour, currents and other ocean properties. The increasing availability of so much satellite data has undoubtedly changed the way the science of oceanography has developed. The unique perspective provided by satellites has revealed previously undetected ocean phenomena, cast new light on old problems and opened the way for new fields of oceanographic study.