Aerial coastal oceanography and pollution surveillance

Aerial monitoring of sea surface temperatures using infrared radiometry is being conducted over Block Island Sound, eastern Long Island Sound, Narragansett Bay, and Thames River discharge zone on a weekly flight schedule. A cooperative ground truth data collection network has been generated among various area institutions to support the aerial measurements. The most promising aerial photographic remote sensing techniques currently being explored to detect and identify water borne pollutants are multispectral image acquisition and image enhancement interpretation. Attempts are being made to optimize film/filter combinations in the wavelength spectrum from 0.3 to 1.3 microns, corresponding to the characteristic reflective of absorptive wavelengths of various surface and sub-surface features. Aerial Coastal Oceanography and Pollution Surveillance.