Satellite Data
NOAA scientists use a variety of satellite data streams to inform fisheries management.
Satellites provide us with all kinds of valuable data, such as high-resolution images and sea surface temperatures. Scientists at NOAA Fisheries can then apply these data to inform fisheries management, create tools, monitor environmental events like harmful algal blooms, and more.
Learn about the different types of satellite data that our scientists collect and use below.
Animal Telemetry
A constellation of satellites known as Argos detect specific radio frequencies sent out from animal tags. NOAA Fisheries uses these data to understand species habitat use, migration, population dynamics, and more. We can also use tags to track survival rates or potential human interactions with protected species. Learn more about the Animal Telemetry Network.
Ocean Color
Satellites can detect subtle changes to the color of the ocean, largely in response to the presence and abundance of microscopic algae. Tracking this information can help inform food availability for zooplankton, shellfish, and fish larvae. Additional factors can change the color of the water, such as river runoff, sediments, or pollution, which impact water quality and light availability.
Ocean Surface Winds
On windy days, you might notice a distinct “roughness” pattern at the very surface of water bodies. Satellites can also see this pattern by measuring the amount of microwave energy bouncing off the ocean surface. This pattern helps derive ocean surface wind speed and direction. Ocean surface winds from satellites have wide applications in marine transportation, fisheries, weather and ocean forecasts, and more. Winds influence the transport of planktonic material, ocean mixing, and sea ice formation and trajectories. They are broadly used to assess sea state in dynamic species distribution models.
Satellite Imagery
Commercial very high resolution satellites can take detailed snapshots of the Earth’s surface. How detailed? Enough that a dark laptop set against a bright surface could be sensed from space. This level of detail enables NOAA Fisheries scientists to detect objects such as North Atlantic right whales and beluga whales, as well as ships. The feasibility of automated creature detection and counting is being explored with cutting edge machine learning techniques.
Sea Ice
Sea ice is an important habitat in high latitudes, and the location and timing of seasonal melting drives numerous ecological processes. We are interested in and monitoring the increasingly disruptive changes to the timing and extent of sea ice melt. Using satellites, scientists can determine ice thickness, ice surface temperature, and ice concentration.
Sea Surface Height
Sea surface height is derived directly from satellite altimetry measurements, representing the height of the ocean above a reference point. Sea surface height is an important driver of large scale ocean currents. It can also help identify ocean eddies, upwelling, and other physical ocean features that are important to fish.
Sea Surface Salinity
Sea surface salinity can be derived from microwave radiometry, although not close to the coast. It can be derived at a resolution roughly 40 times more coarse than typical ocean color and temperature satellites can sense. These data can still help inform where ocean water masses form and subsequently collide. Salinity changes in the ocean can influence foraging, reproduction, recruitment, and migration patterns among living marine resources.
Sea Surface Temperature
The temperature of the ocean regulates metabolic activity across the entire trophic continuum, from phytoplankton to megafauna. Satellites use thermal imaging to derive sea surface temperature, enabling the detection of marine heat waves, climate oscillations, and warming trends. The sea surface temperature satellite data record extends back over 40 years, making it the longest satellite-based time series.
Synthetic Aperture Radar
Synthetic aperture radar is an all-weather ocean imaging system that can sense small changes on the physical surface of the water by emitting microwaves and measuring the corresponding reflectance. This can be useful for detecting surface slicks, sea ice, high resolution winds, and other materials that may disturb the surface of the water. It is also a useful data set for ocean vessel tracking, as it can see boats even if its automated information system is turned off.
Multi-Source Data
NOAA also uses and provides products that combine multiple sources of satellite data. The Seascapes Pelagic Habitat Classification identifies spatially explicit water masses with particular biogeochemical features using a combination of ocean color, temperature, salinity, sea surface height, and sea ice.