ADVANCES IN PASSIVE REMOTE-SENSING OF THE OCEAN

Remote sensing of ocean processes using infrared, visible, and passive microwave data has advanced considerably over the last eight years. Although the basic sensors remained the same, techniques for processing and deriving geophysical and biological data have improved substantially. Infrared data are used routinely to derive high quality sea surface temperature estimates, and visible data are used to produce estimates of near-surface phytoplankton pigment concentrations. Passive microwave data are used to estimate sea surface temperature, water vapor, wind speed, and rain rate. These basic data sets are then in turn used in estimating upper ocean velocities, water column primary production, and air/sea fluxes of latent heat and freshwater. Challenges remain in the area of algorithm development, but improvements in data processing and access has expanded the volume and range of oceanographic applications of these satellite data sets.