As the ocean is vast and the ocean phenomena change quickly, the satellite remote sensing is considered to be very useful for monitoring the ocean. The remote sensing technologies are characterized by wavelength regions of the electromagnetic waves bing used. The remote sensing is generally classified into visible near infrared, thermal infrared, active and passive microwave remote sensings. The characteristics of the ocean observation by satellite remote sensing are explained and the ocean phenomena which can be observed by each remote sensing are descibed. The sea surface temperature, one of the important ocean phenomena, can be observed using the thermal infrared remote sensing. The active and passive microwave remote sensing are effective for monitoring the ocean owing to their observation capability under all weather condition. The satellite remote sensing data available for monitoring the ocean at present and in future are also described.
