Seeing sea from space
Why not use satellites to look at ocean colour?
'Yes, we do use satellites. But they have to look through the atmosphere to see the ocean. The atmosphere seems clear to us, but it isn't that clear to a satellite sensor. 80% of the signal you get can be atmospheric interference, especially if it's cloudy. And of course satellites may only pass over a region once a day when it may be cloudy - we need a more detailed picture.'
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Global ocean colour map - the phytoplankton pigment levels have been calculated by the satellite from the true ocean colour data
Image: NASA, SeaWiFS and ORBIMAGE |
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