and Baker, 1981), demonstrating the potential power of this synoptic 

 approach. 



Table 1-3. Ocean-related NASA Spacecraft Activities: Previous Decade 



Satellite Sensor Complement 



Launch Status 



Nimbus-5 Microwave radiometer (MR) + 

 meteorological sensors 



Skylab MR, altimeter (ALT), + 

 scatterometer (SCAT) 



Nimus-6 MR + meteorological sensors 

 Geos-3 ALT 



Seasat ALT, MR, SCAT, + synthetic 

 aperture radar (SAR) 



Nimbus-7 Coastal zone color scanner 

 (CZCS), MR + meteorological 

 sensors 



Satellite and aircaft remote -sen sing techniques, as well as moored 

 biological buoys, have matured rapidly in the last 3 to 5 years to now make 

 such sampling feasible within a future Marine Resources Experiment (MAREX) 

 program. As a consequence, the multiplatform (ship, buoy, aircraft, and 

 satellite) sampling strategies of the proposed MAREX research offer an 

 opportunity to significantly reduce the variance in estimates of shelf 

 phytoplankton abundance, carbon fixation, consumption, deposition, and 

 their concomitant nitrogen fluxes. 



1-7 



