Satellite ocean monitoring at ten years: perceptions and realities

Satellite remote sensing of the ocean is important to the maritime industry, fishing, and environmental research, but has real limitations. The capabilities and limitations of remote sensing should be better understood by policy and decision makers, as well as nonremote-sensing oceanographers. Satellites are perceived as being the solution to many nagging ocean surveillance problems, like pollution monitoring. While satellites hold the promise to do more in the future, and are critical elements of various maritime programs today, the applicability of space-based remote sensing should not be oversold. This year is the tenth anniversary of the TIROS-N series of polar-orbiting spacecraft. I t is time to reexamine what the nation's only operational remote sensing satellites have contributed to oceanography and commerce. When planned, these satellites were not expected to be beneficial as they now are or can be.