SATELLITES CAPABLE OF OCEAWOGRAPHIC DATA ACQUISTTIOU ~ 

 A REVIEW 



■by 



Paul E. LaVlolette and Sajadra E. Selm 



lo Introduction 



Oirr present knowledge of the oceans and their interaction with 

 the air, the sun, and geographic surroundings is the cumulative result 

 of thousands of measurements taken over more than a hundred years. 



Today, with the aid of photographic and spectral sensors on 

 spacecraft, synoptic oceanographic data may be obtained which are 

 equivalent to a global network of ocean sensors. Oceanographers, 

 normally tethered to slow-moving, weather-dependent ships, may now 

 view all of the oceans during one day's travel of a polar orbiting 

 satellite. Where clouds permit, ice fields are defined for the polar 



