Abstract
Regular monitoring of the time and space variability of ocean surface features in the Mediterranean Sea using polar-orbiting satellite visible and infrared imagery (NOAA 4 and 5, TIROS-N and NOAA 6) has been ongoing since 1977. Relatively persistent ocean surface thermal discontinuities, with radiative horizontal thermal gradients ≥ 1°C/10km, are assumed to reflect subsurface frontal features, i.e. significant perturbations in vertical isothermal cross-sectional structures. However, little can be directly extrapolated from the satellite data to infer corresponding subsurface structures. The mesoscale variability determined from satellite infrared imagery occurs at varying temporal (daily to seasonal) and spatial (5 to 50 km) scales. Figure 1 (Philippe, 1980).
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References
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© 1981 Plenum Press, New York
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Gallagher, J.J., Philippe, M., Wannamaker, B. (1981). Satellite Monitoring of Ocean Surface Temperature Variability in the Mediterranean Sea. In: Gower, J.F.R. (eds) Oceanography from Space. Marine Science, vol 13. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3315-9_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3315-9_21
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