Acquisition and Processing of AVHRR Images during JGOFS

A station to receive, archive and process high resolution images from the NOAA polar-orbiting satellites will be installed on board the R/V Thompson and operated during the JGOFS cruises. Images of sea surface temperature will be generated. They will be accessible on the ship to support field studies requiring real-time satellite coverage. After post-cruise quality control, they will be published on CD-ROM's for distribution to all JGOFS investigators.

A domain extending from 12.5S to 12.5N and 130W to 145W will be covered. Processes that can be observed in this domain include the upwelling tongue along the equator and the Intertropical Convergence Zone at 8N. The data will be used for statistical studies of the formation, evolution and decay of surface temperature patterns, as well as for process-oriented studies for which simultaneous shipboard sampling is available. Many biochemical studies which require information on primary production patchiness and on advection by mesoscale flows will benefit from this data.