Meteorologist and Oceanographers of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps face a daunting task: characterize the operating environment globally, and more specifically, in the vast oceans and littoral regions, to enhance the safety and efficacy of forces. However, this operating environment is typically the very definition of “data sparse”. Remote Sensing from satellites has become an integral part of Naval operational analysis and forecasting. This has been accomplished though extensive and focused research and development efforts, both Navy-sponsored and leveraged from the scientific community at large.

This paper offers an overview of current satellite usage and those research areas which hold the promise of transition to operations in the near term. Technologies include passive microwave, visual and infrared imaging applications, multispectral applications, scatterometry, altimetry, SAR and feature analysis from high-resolution commercial imagery. Applications of these technologies to real-world Naval operations are detailed.