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 Satellite Data
Although very useful, data collected by the above methods does not have high resolution. The oceans cover approximately 70% of the surface area of the globe, and ships and buoys can only sample a small portion of this area. Many satellites are now equipped with instruments pointed at the oceans which measure sea surface temperatures, winds, and even chlorophyll concentration. This has provided oceanographers with general picture of the worlds oceans and even revealed some circulation patterns which were previously unknown. The image below is from NASA's QuikSCAT satellite. The satellite contains a Scatterometer, which uses microwaves reflected from the sea surface to measure wind speed and direction.
A drawback to images taken with satellites is that they only provide information about the top few centimeters of the oceans surface. Although they have revealed some interesting patterns to the worldwide distribution of phytoplankton, it is difficult to determine how deep in the water column each phytoplankton bloom penetrates.
Data Access
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