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THURSDAY AUGUST 24 - OCEAN TEMPERATURES FROM SPACE: A WEB SITE
Now that we're in hurricane season, forecasters look very carefully at measurements
of ocean temperature. That's because hurricanes generally don't form unless the water's
at least 80oF, and once a hurricane gets going, thereís a strong correlation
between hurricane intensity and the warmth of the water. Enter satellite images.
From space, satellites can estimate the sea-surface temperature to within a degree or two.
Amazingly, this is possible even where it's cloudy. These measurements are colorized and
displayed in maps such as
this one which shows global ocean temperatures from earlier this
You can get images like this on the web at
And you can get closeups
of the Atlantic and the East Coast waters at
These days, there's no better way to monitor the ocean than from space.