Satellite Remote Sensing - Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System
Original (non-English) name
Acronym
Satellite Remote Sensing - IMOS
Citation
Users of IMOS data are required to clearly acknowledge the source material by including the following statement:
Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). It is operated by a consortium of institutions as an unincorporated joint venture, with the University of Tasmania as Lead Agent.
Abstract
Earth observing satellites provide a uniquely efficient means of making repetitive observations automatically over vast areas of the world’s oceans. Although confined to the surface layer, over the past 30 years these observations have been a vital tool for both biological and physical oceanographers and have played a key role in advancing both sciences. The objective of the IMOS Satellite Remote Sensing Facility is to make more of these data, of better quality, more available and easier to use for research. It does this through supporting collection, management, processing, calibration and validation of satellite data, and providing properly documented data in standard formats that are widely supported and familiar to the research community.
Satellite-borne sensors measure spatial and temporal properties of the sea surface using ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum in a variety of different ways. Instruments using the infra-red and microwave spectrum observe changes global, regional and local in sea surface temperatures, revealing both the short-term dynamics of ocean currents and the long-term variation of the ocean climate. Optical sensors use sunlight reflected from the upper ocean layers to infer and quantify biological activity and, in coastal regions, to detect the presence of other optically active constituents including suspended solids and dissolved organic matter. Radar altimeters provide measurements of sea surface height with unmatched precision over the global ocean, revealing regional variations in water density and giving one of the most reliable measurements of the long-term change in ocean volume. Other specialised and increasingly innovative sensors measure surface roughness, wind direction, and even surface salinity.
Although IMOS does not deploy satellites, the Satellite Remote Sensing Facility plays an important role in the international remote sensing community, supporting the calibration and streaming of satellite data in the Southern hemisphere and providing access to high-quality data products through the six Sub-Facilities that make-up Satellite Remote Sensing.