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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.
List of contents
Oceans from Space, a Once-a-Decade Review of Progress: Satellite Oceanography in a Changing World.- Passive Microwave Remote Sensing of the Ocean: An Overview.- SMOS and Aquarius/SAC-D Missions: The Era of Spaceborne Salinity Measurements is About to Begin.- Discoveries About Tropical Cyclones Provided by Microwave Remote Sensing.- Direct Surface Current Field Imaging from Space by Along-Track InSAR and Conventional SAR.- Scatterometer's Unique Capability in Measuring Ocean Surface Stress.- Interpretation of SAR Signatures of the Sea Surface: A Multi-sensor Approach.- Perspectives on Oil Spill Detection Using Synthetic Aperture Radar.- Determining Ocean Circulation and Sea Level from Satellite Altimetry: Progress and Challenges.- Absolute Dynamic Topography from Altimetry: Status and Prospects in the Upcoming GOCE Era.- The Marine Geoid and Satellite Altimetry.- Oceanic Planetary Waves and Eddies: A Privileged View from Satellite Altimetry.- Sea Surface Temperature Measurements from Thermal Infrared Satellite Instruments: Status and Outlook.- The Validation of Sea Surface Temperature Retrievals from Spaceborne Infrared Radiometers.- Use of TIR from Space in Operational Systems.- The Past, Present, and Future of the AVHRR Pathfinder SST Program.- Some Reflections on ThirtyFive Years of Ocean Color Remote Sensing.- Field Radiometry and Ocean Color Remote Sensing.- Forecasting the Coastal Optical Properties Using Satellite Ocean Color.- Ocean-Colour Radiometry: Achievements and Future Perspectives.
Summary
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.
