Since the early 1990's, the Ocean Modeling Branch
has been involved in developing methods to conduct ocean feature tracking
using satellite imagery from the Advanced High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)
on NOAA's polar orbiting satellites to provide synoptic coverage of the
surface circulation over large areas of the coastal ocean. This approach
provides useful information on surface flow in many areas where we have
virtually no information at the present time. Such information is
needed for many important applications, such as search and rescue missions,
containment of oil and toxic chemical spills, optimal ship routing, living
and nonliving resources management, and for input into coastal circulation
models which are currently being developed. Observations on surface
currents in coastal areas will be used both for assimilation into, and
evaluation of, these models.
An interactive system was developed in 1992 to conduct ocean feature tracking using AVHRR satellite imagery which includes a new method for improving image navigation, an important part of the feature tracking methodology. This method was recently modified for application to imagery from GOES-8 which provides the advantage of viewing a given ocean region on a continuous basis. We plan to conduct a validation study of the surface currents obtained from the GOES imagery and to develop methods to automate the feature tracking process. Finally, we also plan to employ ocean color imagery from SeaWiFs as a new source of data to conduct feature tracking, and satellite altimetric retrievals to produce maps of ocean surface currents on a routine daily basis.
Breaker, L.C., V.M. Krasnopolsky, D.B. Rao and X.H. Yan, The Feasibility of Estimating Ocean Surface Currents on an Operational Basis Using Satellite Feature Tracking Methods. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 75, 2085-2095, 1994.
Krasnopolsky, V.M. and L.C. Breaker, The Problem of AVHRR Image Navigation
Revisited. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 15, 979-1008,
1994.