Remote Sensing of Ocean Environment: Past to Present

Abstract

Remote sensing technology for the marine environment has been developed over the past 50 years, leading to the collection and accumulation of various parameters. We will introduce physical parameters, such as sea surface temperature, salinity, sea surface height, sea ice, wind, and surface roughness. We will also provide a more in depth explanation of biological and chemical parameters, including chlorophyll-a, suspended matter, colored dissolved organic matter, primary production, phytoplankton groups, and seafloor conditions, using ocean color detection. While these data have primary been applied to open ocean studies due to coarse spatial resolution, their use in coastal applications has been growing and is expected to increase further in the near future. Assimilations with numerical models is also anticipated to expand, particularly for biological and chemical application.