This book offers a survey of the contribution of satellite data to the study of the ocean, focusing on the special insights that only satellite data can bring to oceanography. Topics range from ocean waves to ocean biology, spanning scales from basins to estuaries. Some chapters cover applications to pure research while others show how satellite data can be used operationally for tasks such as pollution monitoring or oil-spill detection.
To all those sailors / Who dreamed before us / Of another way to sail the oceans. The dedication of this Volume is meant to recall, and honour, the bold pioneers of ocean exploration, ancient as well as modern. As a marine scientist, dealing with the oceans through the complex tools, ?lters and mechanisms of contemporary research, I have always wondered what it was like, in centuries past, to look at that vast ho- zon with the naked eye, not knowing what was ahead, and yet to sail on. I have tried to imagine what ancient sailors felt, when “the unknown swirls around and engulfs the mind”, as a forgotten author simply described the brave, perhaps reckless, act of facing such a hostile, menacing and yet fascinating adventure. Innovation has always been the key element, I think, for their success: another way, a better way, a more effective, safer and worthier way was the proper answer to the challenge. The map of our world has been changed time and again, from the geographical as well as the social, economic and scienti?c points of view, by the new discoveries of those sailors. One of the positive qualities of human beings is without doubt the inborn desire to expand their horizons, to see what lies beyond, to learn and understand.
This book covers the fundamental principles of measuring oceans from space, and also contains state-of-the-art developments in data analysis and interpretation and in sensors. Completely new will be material covering advances in oceanography that have grown out of remote sensing, including some of the global applications of the data. The variety of applications of remotely sensed data to ocean science has grown significantly and new areas of science are emerging to exploit the gobal datasets being recovered by satellites, particularly in relation to climate and climate change, basin-scale, air-sea interaction processes (e.g. El Nino) and the modelling, forecasting and prediction of the ocean.
Inside the epic quest to find life on the water-rich moons at the outer reaches of the solar system Where is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often look to Mars as the most promising site in our solar system, but recent scientific missions have revealed that some of the most habitable real estate may actually lie farther away. Beneath the frozen crusts of several of the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn lurk vast oceans that may have existed for as long as Earth, and together may contain more than fifty times its total volume of liquid water. Could there be organisms living in their depths? Alien Oceans reveals the science behind the thrilling quest to find out. Kevin Peter Hand is one of today's leading NASA scientists, and his pioneering research has taken him on expeditions around the world. In this captivating account of scientific discovery, he brings together insights from planetary science, biology, and the adventures of scientists like himself to explain how we know that oceans exist within moons of the outer solar system, like Europa, Titan, and Enceladus. He shows how the exploration of Earth's oceans is informing our understanding of the potential habitability of these icy moons, and draws lessons from what we have learned about the origins of life on our own planet to consider how life could arise on these distant worlds. Alien Oceans describes what lies ahead in our search for life in our solar system and beyond, setting the stage for the transformative discoveries that may await us.
A man discovers the planet’s destiny in the ocean’s depths in this near-future novel by one of the twentieth century’s greatest science fiction authors. In the very near future, humanity has fully harnessed the sea’s immense potential, employing advanced sonar technology to control and harvest untold resources for human consumption. It is a world where gigantic whale herds are tended by submariners and vast plankton farms stave off the threat of hunger. Former space engineer Walter Franklin has been assigned to a submarine patrol. Initially indifferent to his new station, if not bored by his daily routines, Walter soon becomes fascinated by the sea’s mysteries. The more his explorations deepen, the more he comes to understand man’s true place in nature—and the unique role he will soon play in humanity’s future. A lasting testament to Arthur C. Clarke’s prescient and powerful imagination, The Deep Range is a classic work of science fiction that remains deeply relevant to our times.
Satellite remote sensing, in particular by radar altimetry, is a crucial technique for observations of the ocean surface and of many aspects of land surfaces, and of paramount importance for climate and environmental studies. This book provides a state-of-the-art overview of the satellite altimetry techniques and related missions, and reviews the most-up-to date applications to ocean dynamics and sea level. It also discusses related space-based observations of the ocean surface and of the marine geoid, as well as applications of satellite altimetry to the cryosphere and land surface waters; operational oceanography and its applications to navigation, fishing and defense.
Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography is a practical referenceguide to established and modern data analysis techniques in earth and oceansciences. This second and revised edition is even more comprehensive with numerous updates, and an additional appendix on 'Convolution and Fourier transforms'. Intended for both students and established scientists, the fivemajor chapters of the book cover data acquisition and recording, dataprocessing and presentation, statistical methods and error handling,analysis of spatial data fields, and time series analysis methods. Chapter 5on time series analysis is a book in itself, spanning a wide diversity oftopics from stochastic processes and stationarity, coherence functions,Fourier analysis, tidal harmonic analysis, spectral and cross-spectralanalysis, wavelet and other related methods for processing nonstationarydata series, digital filters, and fractals. The seven appendices includeunit conversions, approximation methods and nondimensional numbers used ingeophysical fluid dynamics, presentations on convolution, statisticalterminology, and distribution functions, and a number of importantstatistical tables. Twenty pages are devoted to references. Featuring:• An in-depth presentation of modern techniques for the analysis of temporal and spatial data sets collected in oceanography, geophysics, and other disciplines in earth and ocean sciences.• A detailed overview of oceanographic instrumentation and sensors - old and new - used to collect oceanographic data.• 7 appendices especially applicable to earth and ocean sciences ranging from conversion of units, through statistical tables, to terminology and non-dimensional parameters. In praise of the first edition: "(...)This is a very practical guide to the various statistical analysis methods used for obtaining information from geophysical data, with particular reference to oceanography(...)The book provides both a text for advanced students of the geophysical sciences and a useful reference volume for researchers." Aslib Book Guide Vol 63, No. 9, 1998 "(...)This is an excellent book that I recommend highly and will definitely use for my own research and teaching." EOS Transactions, D.A. Jay, 1999 "(...)In summary, this book is the most comprehensive and practical source of information on data analysis methods available to the physical oceanographer. The reader gets the benefit of extremely broad coverage and an excellent set of examples drawn from geographical observations." Oceanography, Vol. 12, No. 3, A. Plueddemann, 1999 "(...)Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography is highly recommended for a wide range of readers, from the relative novice to the experienced researcher. It would be appropriate for academic and special libraries." E-Streams, Vol. 2, No. 8, P. Mofjelf, August 1999
In this book, geologists Jan Zalasiewicz and Mark Williams consider the deep history of oceans, how and when they may have formed on the young Earth - topics of intense current research - how they became salty, and how they evolved through Earth history.
