The Use of Satellite Data in Ocean Engineering

Abstract

Ocean engineering is a composite of several disciplines including physical oceanography, chemistry and metallurgy, marine geology, structural and mechanical engineering, soil engineering and system analysis. An integrated approach in designing offshore structures, selecting safe locations for them, maintaining and operating them efficiently, and at the same time avoiding unnecessary hazards to the environment or to man, is just emerging. Perhaps the most significant drawback to such an integrated approach is the dearth of adequate environmental data; adequate in the sense of coverage and continuity. Extraordinary costs accompany most marine operations requiring data collection over long spans of time; most of these expenses are related to research and development of reliable instrumentation, to the problems of maintaining sensors over protracted duration in the ocean and often to the complexity of reducing and interpreting large data collections.