Space sensors application to synoptic oceanography

Traditionally, man's knowledge about his ocean environment has been acquired by point sampling, generally from surface ships. Because of the relatively few number of ships available for conducting oceanographic surveys, and the hostile nature of the ocean itself, the data acquired has been costly in terms of money and time. Further, the dynamic nature and behavior of the seas requires that observations be synoptic rather than point observations which have been separated widely in time and space.