An Overview of ESA Activities in Support of Direct Ocean Sur-face Current Measurement from Space

Inhalt:
Sea surface currents are direct indicators of transport and mixing at the ocean surface, which have direct consequences on the distribution of heat and marine life in the ocean. Current velocity can also be seen as a proxy quantification of turbulence at the air-sea interface, which plays a major role in the exchange of CO2 between the ocean and the atmosphere, and has crucial impact in the atmospheric carbon budget and on climate change. The European Space Agency has therefore pursued the development of potential spaceborne instruments to measure sea-surface currents.