Using Satellite Image, provided by David T. Sandwell from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA 92093, for bathymetric and topological data. The data are from a satellite image in Mercator Map Projection. The retrieved data by this program will be in Geographic Coordinates. Note that it cannot handle the longitude range that cross the Greenwich Meridian. For detail seafloor bathymetric, use the MultiBeam Database.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Ocean Environment Research Division established a geographic information system (GIS) for integrating multidisciplinary oceanographic data collected throughout the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Data collected by remote-sensing techniques include satellite imagery of sea surface temperature, seafloor bathymetry derived from multibeam sonar systems, and environmental acoustic signals from bottom-mounted and portable hydrophone arrays. Acoustic monitoring is directed at the detection and location of water-borne signals of seafloor earthquakes (T-waves) and whales. Field observations include seafloor geologic mapping and whale sightings. Seafloor mapping information is gathered using submersibles, towed-camera systems, and other towed water-sampling devices. A GIS allows the integration and analysis of these diverse and various spatial data and formats within a single computer architecture accessible through an easy-to-use graphical user interface. The GIS system described here has combined earthquake-source parameter information with acoustic locations and seafloor bathymetric data to provide new tectonic models of NE Pacific oceanic plate boundaries. Similarly, whale locations are mapped and compared to oceanographic features such as bathymetry and sea surface temperatures using GIS.

Imagery obtained from an Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). The AVHRR satellite imagery is collected by NOAA and is available in positive transparency format for 1974 to the present. Several passes a day covering the Beaufort, Chukchi and Bering Seas as well as mainland Alaska and the Gulf of Alaska are received in visual and infrared format. Also available are facsimile paper prints from 1982 to present.

LANDSAT and NOAA satellite images from the University of Alaska LANDSAT Library have been used to make maps of ice conditions in the eastern Bering Sea. The analyses included daily charts of the ice, polynya locations, floe trajectories and comparisons between data taken from the two sources. A Zoom Transfer Scope (ZTS) was used to transfer the data from an image to a map base for late winter conditions in 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1979.[Reference: McNutt, S.L. (1981): Ice conditions in the Eastern Bering Sea from NOAA and LANDSAT imagery: Winter conditions 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979. NOAA Tech. Memo. ERL PMEL-24 (PB81-220188), 179 pp. ]

Satellite imagery from 1991 to present (and continuing). Some historical (pre-1991) data exist.

The investigator will analyze AVHRR and SeaWiFS imagery and establish a three year time series of imagery processed to bio-optical properties (absorption, scattering, and chlorophyll) and SST, both co-registered at 1 km spatial resolution. He will also go on the two SEASOAR cruises to download satellite data on board ship in real time and provide guidance to the rest of the research team regarding the strength and location of fronts, eddies, etc.The approach is to calibrate the imagery via direct comparison with physical and optical properties observed in-situ aboard an oceanographic research vessel.International Collaborators include: Dr. Moon-Sik Suk (KORDI, with L. Kantha, U.S.) on bio-optical modeling and data assimilation. Dr. Ichio Asanuma, JAMSTEC, Mutsu Branch, 690, Sekine, Mutsu, Aomori, Japan 035-0022, Dial-in: 81-175-45-1071, Fax: 81-175-45-1079 (AVHRR imaging).Ocean color images from SeaWiFS data available at http://www7240.nrlssc.navy.mil/. Follow links to Japan sea. A user name and password are required - contact Bob Arnone at arnone@nrlssc.navy.mil.Part of the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) supported research in the Japan/East Sea (JES) during 1998-2000. JES website URL: http://sam.ucsd.edu/onr_jes/onr_jes.html

A collection of Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) data covering Alaska and surrounding areas from 1972 to present, each image covers 185 x 185 km area, image scale on film reprints is approximately 1:1,000,000, images in black-and-white and color.