ESA Ocean Virtual Laboratory : satellite observations, model and in-situ data at your fingertips

In recent years, new satellites and sensors have made it easier to observe various ocean properties and phenomena at different scales. For example, the Copernicus Space program includes several types of sensors that can monitor roughness, ocean color, temperature, and height from space. While each polar-orbiting sensor only revisits a given area occasionally, the constellation of satellite missions can observe the ocean more frequently. Other geostationary sensors, like the SEVIRI sensor, also contribute by providing hourly data on sea surface temperature, which helps capture changes even in cloudy areas. This data provides invaluable insights into ocean state, climatology and evolution.

 

However, working with this diverse data is challenging. Accessing raw data, organizing it, and preparing it for analysis requires technical expertise, which can be a barrier for many potential users. To solve this, the Ocean Virtual Laboratory (OVL) team has developed open source tools to make ocean data more accessible and easy to analyze.

Firstly, online data visualization websites, such as https://ovl.oceandatalab.com, have been made publicly accessible. These platforms empower users to explore various satellite, in-situ, and model data with just a few clicks. Users can navigate through time and space, easily compare hundreds of products (some in Near Real-Time), and utilize drawing and annotation features. The OVL web portal also embed tools like SEAShot to facilitate sharing interesting cases with fellow scientists and communicating about captivating oceanic structures.

The second tool, SEAScope, is a freely available standalone application that provides additional data analysis capabilities. SEAScope, which works on Windows, Linux, and macOS, allows users to display data on a 3D globe and extract specific data for detailed analysis. Users can even link SEAScope with other applications, like Jupyter notebooks, to perform deeper data analysis and bring results back into SEAScope for visualization.

 

Together, these tools make it easier for users to access, analyze, and share valuable ocean data. They are commonly used during at sea campaign, as it allows scientists to quickly and efficiently look at a variety of data in near time. This is particularly useful to make informed decisions to adapt cruise planning and compare the remote sensing measurements with in-situ observations in near real time .