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Satellites as Ocean Laboratories
Satellite remote sensing provides synoptic views of ocean conditions that no ship-based survey could match. Sensors measure sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a concentration (a proxy for phytoplankton biomass), sea surface height, and even surface salinity from orbit. NASA's MODIS and ESA's Sentinel-3 satellites deliver near-daily global ocean color imagery. These data underpin fisheries management, harmful algal bloom detection, climate monitoring, and habitat mapping. For marine biologists, remote sensing transforms ecological questions from local snapshots to basin-scale analyses.