North Sea - MERIS - 17 May 2002

This left part of the image features the North Sea. Several Northern European and Scandinavian countries are visible as well. On the right part of the image one can distinguish the Baltic sea.

The North sea has always been an important resource for the surrounding European countries. Its waters are exploited by fisheries industries, its soils are rich in fossil fuel and it is a place of intense navigation. The water quality assessment done by MERIS could be of great help in the management of these areas. Accurate and frequent measurements (every two days) can be achieved over this economic and natural resource for Northern Europe. Satellite-borne instruments can help scientists and policy makers to better monitor and understand this sea but also the oceans at global scale.

Technical Information:
Instrument: MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS)
Date of Acquisition: 17 May 2002
Orbit number: 1107
Instrument features: Reduced Resolution image (1200-meter resolution)