OCEAN 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Low Frequency, Chlorophyll, Geostationary Orbit
Document Summary
Use of satellites to obtain large data sets. Geostationary orbit situated above the equator in a circular orbit in the same direction as the rotation of the earth. Becomes stationary relative to the earth, and thus always sees the same area of the ocean. Not extremely useful for geographic analysis because there is not a large area. Polar orbit (inclination) located around 90 and scans the earth in strips. Sun-synchronous orbit crosses the equator at the same local solar time on each pass throughout the year. Passive sensors: visible wavelength radiometers (400nm 1um) solar radiation reflected by earth"s surfa(cid:272)e. Infrared (ir) radiometers (about 10 um) thermal emissions of the earth: microwave radiometers (1. 5-300mm) thermal emissions of the earth in the microwave. Absorption of light by seawater (aw) is strongest at red wavelengths. Dissolved materials in water can add to the absorption in other wavelengths.
