COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN REGION (CESAR): AN INTEGRATED SATELLITE DATA MANAGEMENT AND DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
Proyecto financiado por el Instituto InterAmericano para la Investigación del Cambio Global (IAI), 2004.
(terminado)
Satellite data provide our only window into the marine ecosystem on synoptic scales. Thus, continental-scale views of the South-American coastal ecosystem can be produced only using remotely-sensed data. We propose to assemble and mobilise the existing and future data on ocean color for the region through ANTARES, and as a first step to construct a weekly time series at 1 km resolution of the status of the coastal ecosystem of South America as perceived through visible spectral radiometry. The ocean-color data will be supplemented by other relevant satellite data (sea surface temperature, winds, at their highest possible spatial resolution) and also by in situ observations. The images will show the concentration of chlorophyll along the coast and shelf all around the continent. Simple web-based software tools will be provided to sample the data quantitatively (extract geophysical values and location information) and integrated with in situ data to maximise their utility. The results and software will be made available to the public via the internet, with adequate password protection to limit access in cases where data are proprietary (specifically in the case of the Sea-viewing Wide Field of View Sensor or SeaWiFS).
Dr. O. Ulloa (Chile). Member of the ANTARES network.
