viii
Preface
wall reliefs, showing scenes of village life, exotic plants, birds and animals, and men
carrying off heaps of goods. Elaborately rigged sailboats are shown, getting ready to
bring the tribute back to Egypt. . . while many types of fish swim in the water below!
While other voyages to the Land of Punt had preceded, and others followed later,
over the centuries, only the remaining accounts of the expedition set forth by Hatshepsut describe in detail the flora and fauna typical of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean
(i.e. saltwater species such as turtles, parrot-fish, scorpion-fish, soldier-fish, triggerfish, wrasse, squid and spiny lobster) collected on that occasion. The rich details
of these pictorial descriptions are so accurate that—as reported by oceanographer
Sayed El-Sayed—the late Carl Hubbs, famed ichthyologist of the Scripps Institution
of Oceanography, claimed he was “able to identify the fish to the species level” from
the carvings.
Given the mixed commercial and non-commercial scope of the enterprise, and
the resulting (quasi) scientific reports above, the one organized by Hatshepsut can
be considered as the first real oceanographic cruise ever to be sent into the African
Seas. The ensuing accurate knowledge of geography, hydrography and meteorology,
derived from precise observations of the environment, enabled ancient Egyptians
to undertake long seafaring ventures. After Hatshepsut, other Egyptian monarchs
reached southern Africa and beyond. Herodotus informs us that Necho II, King of
Egypt (circa 600 BC) sent Phoenician sailors down to the Red Sea and along the coast
of Lybia, modern Africa
1 . After 3 years, they returned through the Pillars of Hercules,
the Strait of Gibraltar, and reached Egypt via the Mediterranean Sea. According to
William A. Herdmann, author of The Founders of Oceanography and Their Work
(1923), it is doubtful that the circumnavigation of Africa was repeated again, until
Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope (from the west) 2000 years later, in
the fifteenth century.
This Volume, focusing on the marginal, semi-enclosed and enclosed water bodies
of Africa—herein referred to as the “African Seas”—is dedicated to the extraordinary
achievements of Hatshepsut’s original, albeit embryonic, oceanographic mission.
However, it is on modern expeditions, which use Earth orbiting satellites to map
the waters surrounding the African continental landmass, that the present review
concentrates. The following collection of topical papers span the vast potential of
remote sensing techniques to tackle the issues, peculiarities and special challenges
posed by the African coastal and enclosed water bodies. The assessment of surface
parameters by means of both passive and active techniques is addressed, focusing on
the use of reflected visible and near-infrared sunlight, of surface emissions at thermal
infrared or microwave frequencies, or again of the return of transmitted impulses of
microwave radiation.
1 Libya clearly is bounded by the sea, except where it borders on Asia. Nekhau king of Egypt first
discovered this and made it known. When he had abandoned the digging of the canal which leads
from the Nile to the Arabian Gulf, he sent Phoenicians in ships, with orders to sail on their return
voyage past the Pillars of Heracles until they came into the northern sea and so to Egypt. Herodotus,
Histories 4.42
Preface
wall reliefs, showing scenes of village life, exotic plants, birds and animals, and men
carrying off heaps of goods. Elaborately rigged sailboats are shown, getting ready to
bring the tribute back to Egypt. . . while many types of fish swim in the water below!
While other voyages to the Land of Punt had preceded, and others followed later,
over the centuries, only the remaining accounts of the expedition set forth by Hatshepsut describe in detail the flora and fauna typical of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean
(i.e. saltwater species such as turtles, parrot-fish, scorpion-fish, soldier-fish, triggerfish, wrasse, squid and spiny lobster) collected on that occasion. The rich details
of these pictorial descriptions are so accurate that—as reported by oceanographer
Sayed El-Sayed—the late Carl Hubbs, famed ichthyologist of the Scripps Institution
of Oceanography, claimed he was “able to identify the fish to the species level” from
the carvings.
Given the mixed commercial and non-commercial scope of the enterprise, and
the resulting (quasi) scientific reports above, the one organized by Hatshepsut can
be considered as the first real oceanographic cruise ever to be sent into the African
Seas. The ensuing accurate knowledge of geography, hydrography and meteorology,
derived from precise observations of the environment, enabled ancient Egyptians
to undertake long seafaring ventures. After Hatshepsut, other Egyptian monarchs
reached southern Africa and beyond. Herodotus informs us that Necho II, King of
Egypt (circa 600 BC) sent Phoenician sailors down to the Red Sea and along the coast
of Lybia, modern Africa
1 . After 3 years, they returned through the Pillars of Hercules,
the Strait of Gibraltar, and reached Egypt via the Mediterranean Sea. According to
William A. Herdmann, author of The Founders of Oceanography and Their Work
(1923), it is doubtful that the circumnavigation of Africa was repeated again, until
Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope (from the west) 2000 years later, in
the fifteenth century.
This Volume, focusing on the marginal, semi-enclosed and enclosed water bodies
of Africa—herein referred to as the “African Seas”—is dedicated to the extraordinary
achievements of Hatshepsut’s original, albeit embryonic, oceanographic mission.
However, it is on modern expeditions, which use Earth orbiting satellites to map
the waters surrounding the African continental landmass, that the present review
concentrates. The following collection of topical papers span the vast potential of
remote sensing techniques to tackle the issues, peculiarities and special challenges
posed by the African coastal and enclosed water bodies. The assessment of surface
parameters by means of both passive and active techniques is addressed, focusing on
the use of reflected visible and near-infrared sunlight, of surface emissions at thermal
infrared or microwave frequencies, or again of the return of transmitted impulses of
microwave radiation.
1 Libya clearly is bounded by the sea, except where it borders on Asia. Nekhau king of Egypt first
discovered this and made it known. When he had abandoned the digging of the canal which leads
from the Nile to the Arabian Gulf, he sent Phoenicians in ships, with orders to sail on their return
voyage past the Pillars of Heracles until they came into the northern sea and so to Egypt. Herodotus,
Histories 4.42