viii
Preface
second “Oceans from Space” Symposium, in 1990, were faced by difficulties of
continuing to fund their enterprise, in spite of the extraordinary possibilities hinted
by their early results.
It was only during the third edition of “Oceans from Space”, in 2000, that the
need for new, unprecedented commitments, in terms of both funding and research
programmes, became evident not only to the scientific community, but also in the
political circles where goals and priorities of public investments are set. Climate
change, and its unexpected consequences, both in the environmental as well as
socio-economic realms, was upon us, at that time, and action seemed urgent. It
is still, as we get together once again, in Venice, the city that represents so well
our complex, dangerous and yet captivating bond with the sea. The achievements,
the understanding we gained over the past three decades of ocean observations,
are reviewed and commented in the present collection of key-note lectures delivered at the fourth “Oceans from Space” Symposium, in 2010. But, as usual, the
future outlooks offered by many of the authors focus on the open questions, on
the new challenges that have been brought about in the course of the most recent
explorations.
The chapters of this Volume provide an overview of the path followed so far,
the instruments available today, and the plans for tomorrow, when observing the
oceans with passive or active microwave, infrared and visible remote sensing. In
some instances, they start to unveil the advantages deriving from the use of complementary techniques and the added value of their combined views. The breadth
and complexity of the environmental themes and of the diverse techniques covered in the papers called for the contribution of several prominent figures in our
scientific community, whose names and affiliations appear in the following list of
Contributors. To all of them go my sincerest thanks, for the enthusiasm with which
they responded to my call for help, and for the patience with which they endured my
continuous reminders of incumbent deadlines. Further, special thanks are due to my
colleagues at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, whose help as
“fast reviewers” of the submitted papers has been highly appreciated, when time was
running short, and is acknowledged here, now that their obscure, but invaluable, job
is done. Their names are also recalled in the list of Contributors that follows. Finally,
I would like thank my co-editors of this Volume, and dear friends, Jim Gower and
Luigi Alberotanza. Without Jim, there would be no “Oceans from Space” conference series, period. Without Luigi, none of the “Oceans from Space” editions would
have enjoyed the success that they did. It has been a privilege, and a great pleasure,
to work with both of them.
Ispra, Italy
Vittorio Barale
Preface
second “Oceans from Space” Symposium, in 1990, were faced by difficulties of
continuing to fund their enterprise, in spite of the extraordinary possibilities hinted
by their early results.
It was only during the third edition of “Oceans from Space”, in 2000, that the
need for new, unprecedented commitments, in terms of both funding and research
programmes, became evident not only to the scientific community, but also in the
political circles where goals and priorities of public investments are set. Climate
change, and its unexpected consequences, both in the environmental as well as
socio-economic realms, was upon us, at that time, and action seemed urgent. It
is still, as we get together once again, in Venice, the city that represents so well
our complex, dangerous and yet captivating bond with the sea. The achievements,
the understanding we gained over the past three decades of ocean observations,
are reviewed and commented in the present collection of key-note lectures delivered at the fourth “Oceans from Space” Symposium, in 2010. But, as usual, the
future outlooks offered by many of the authors focus on the open questions, on
the new challenges that have been brought about in the course of the most recent
explorations.
The chapters of this Volume provide an overview of the path followed so far,
the instruments available today, and the plans for tomorrow, when observing the
oceans with passive or active microwave, infrared and visible remote sensing. In
some instances, they start to unveil the advantages deriving from the use of complementary techniques and the added value of their combined views. The breadth
and complexity of the environmental themes and of the diverse techniques covered in the papers called for the contribution of several prominent figures in our
scientific community, whose names and affiliations appear in the following list of
Contributors. To all of them go my sincerest thanks, for the enthusiasm with which
they responded to my call for help, and for the patience with which they endured my
continuous reminders of incumbent deadlines. Further, special thanks are due to my
colleagues at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, whose help as
“fast reviewers” of the submitted papers has been highly appreciated, when time was
running short, and is acknowledged here, now that their obscure, but invaluable, job
is done. Their names are also recalled in the list of Contributors that follows. Finally,
I would like thank my co-editors of this Volume, and dear friends, Jim Gower and
Luigi Alberotanza. Without Jim, there would be no “Oceans from Space” conference series, period. Without Luigi, none of the “Oceans from Space” editions would
have enjoyed the success that they did. It has been a privilege, and a great pleasure,
to work with both of them.
Ispra, Italy
Vittorio Barale