Oceanographic Satellite Remotely-Sensed Data Holdings: Past, Present and Future

Although U.S. satellites have been gathering environmental data from space since the early 1960´s, prior to the launch of SEASAT in July 1978, whatever satellite data that was used by oceanographic or other marine-oriented scientists and engineers had to be obtained from systems primarily designed for meteorology, land-use or other non-marine disciplines. This paper will briefly describe the types of satellite data that are on archive at NOAA and of interest and use to oceanographic researchers.