XIV 
port, "Marine Resources Experiment Program," 
outlining the justification and necessary perfor- 
mance specifications was published in December 
1982. 
In 1986 NOAA suggested that a government- 
industry partnership be formed to provide ocean- 
color data. In response, EOSAT initiated efforts to 
survey the market and to define user require- 
ments and studies on sensor design and space- 
craft accommodation of the sensor. In addition, 
NASA initiated "Phase A" studies to define 
ground-segment and data-processing require- 
ments. Recognizing the mutual benefits accruing 
from the joint collaboration of NASA and EOSAT, 
demonstrated by the Thermal Infrared Working 
Group (Putnam 1986), the Sea-viewing Wide-Field 
Sensor (SeaWiFS) Working Group was organized. 
The overall purpose of the EOSAT/NASA SeaWiFS 
Working Group was to define the specifications 
for a feasible and cost-effective SeaWiFS system, 
including spacecraft and ground segments. 
The SeaWiFS Working Group convened in a 
2-day session at EOSAT headquarters in Lanham, 
Maryland, February 11 and 12, 1987. The work- 
shop was attended by about 70 persons from 
government, academia, and industry. The charter 
of the Working Group was to: 
© Demonstrate the technical capability of 
achieving the OCI/MAREX mission objectives 
through flying a wide-field-of-view sensor in 
addition to the Thematic Mapper on board the 
Landsat-6 spacecraft, and 
® Define on-board and ground data-processing 
systems with the capability of acquiring, pro- 
cessing, distributing, and archiving SeaWiFS 
data within the time and data-format con- 
straints of the commercial, operational, and re- 
search user communities. 
The Working Group was organized into three 
panels, representing the interests of commercial 
and operational users of oceanographic data, 
oceanographic research, and those responsible 
for implementing the system. The panels met si- 
multaneously and convened each day in a plen- 
ary session to exchange information on progress 
made and emerging recommendations. The Re- 
search Panel focused on defining the scientific 
purposes that could be served by remotely 
sensed ocean-color imagery and temperature 
measurements and the system parameters that 
would be required to acquire these data. The 
Commercial and Operational Users' Panel sum- 
marized the public- and private-sector applica- 
tions for these data and the data processing and 
dissemination system that would be required for 
commercial and operational use. The Implemen- 
tation Panel explored sensor-concept definition, 
spacecraft integration, data handling, downlinks 
and formats, and data processing and distribution 
scenarios that were feasible for implementation to 
satisfy the requirements of the potential users of 
the data. The recommendations of the panels 
were integrated and summarized during a sec- 
ond meeting of the Working Group on 8 April 
1987. This report contains the findings of the two 
meetings. 
The SeaWiFS Working Group effort builds on 
the success of the prior Thermal-Infrared Work- 
ing Group and represents an ongoing process of 
joint government and industry program evalua- 
tion to ensure development of significant new 
remote-sensing initiatives with commercial and 
scientific research applications. 
