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Office of Research and Applications Oceanic Research and Applications Division Dr. Eric Bayler, Chief Our Mission: The Oceanic Research and Applications Division (ORAD) of NESDIS/ORA provides the primary research and development support for oceanic remote sensing within NOAA. Scientific programs include sea surface temperature algorithms and analyses, ocean color, marine bio-optics, sea-surface wind measurements, satellite altimetry, oceanic rainfall measurements, Search And Rescue Satellite applications, and coastal monitoring tools in such programs as CoastWatch and the Coral Bleaching research. Ocean remote sensing is a major initiative in NOAA science. The ORAD Organization Ocean Remote Sensing Program CoastWatch Program Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry Marine Applications Science Team Marine Observation Systems Team Current Activities • Coral Reef Bleaching - Sea surface temperatures higher than 1C above expected summertime levels appear to be closely correlated with onset of bleaching of healthy corals, leading eventually to the death of the coral and possible severe damage to the reefs if extreme levels persist.... • Sea Surface Temperature Analysis - Scaling and analysis of sea surface temperature values was the earliest success of oceanic remote sensing. The development of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer in... • Satellite Altimetry- Study of the contours of the sea surface using satellite altimetry has allowed scientists to develop... • Ocean Surface Winds- Sensors on the ... satellite provide measurements of the winds at the sea surface... • Ocean Color Physics - Analyses combining several channels of the AVHRR data as well as specially designed channels of the recent new sensors on the SeaWiFs satellite allow an artificial enhancement of ocean color which shows... • Ocean Color Biology - Following the brief success of the analyses of earlier ocean color sensors the new satellite sensors on the SeaWiFs satellite allow detailed depiction of several biological activities in the surface ocean layers from satellite... • Oceanic Precipitation - Storms over the ocean exhibit distinct patterns of rainfall both over the life of each storm and related to the type of storm which forms. The signatures of these storms can be detected in the acoustical signatures of the raindrops measured from underwater hydrophones... For Further Exploration • Resources for Teachers and Students - Oceanic Research and Applications Division is committed to providing the special requirements of educators in support of the National Standards for the Teaching of Science. Toward this end we provide webpages designed to answer the special needs of teachers and students... • Other Ocean Remote Sensing Websites - There are numerous interesting and informative oceanographic and ocean remote sensing sites available. Our page shows a selection of these which provide... • Links to NOAA Resources and News Releases - Resources to help you find products, data, and information from NESDIS and NOAA How to Find Us - Directions to ORAD Offices Oceanic Research and Applications Index Page Last revision: 11 January 2002 Contact the Webmaster