Twin satellites provide global coverage of Earth’s oceans

Twin satellites provide global coverage of Earth’s oceans Today’s Video of the Day comes from the European Space Agency (ESA) and features a look at the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission, which provides a wealth of information about Earth’s oceans.

The Sentinel-3A satellite was first launched in February 2016 and will soon be joined by its identical twin, Sentinel-3B. While the satellites can provide important data about land, ice, and the atmosphere, their marine applications are perhaps the most developed. The instruments can measure ocean temperatures for weather forecasting services, marine biological productivity, sea level changes, and ocean pollution.

By remotely sensing from their orbits high above the Earth, satellites provide us much more information than would be possible to obtain solely from the surface. Using satellites, NOAA researchers closely study the ocean. The satellite coverage area is defined as a region of the Earth. Also the satellite is seen at a minimum predefined elevation angle. The satellite’s coverage area on the Earth. depends on orbital parameters. The communication under low elevation angles can be hindered by natural barriers. 

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By Rory Arnold, Earth.com Staff Writer

Video Credit: European Space Agency