Legacy of the Seasat Mission for Studies of the Atmosphere and Air-Sea-Ice Interactions

Studies of midlatitude and tropical cyclones and regional weather and climate analyses are examined. Consideration is also given to studies of long swell, sea ice, and continental ice sheets with Seasat data. Many of these results of the Seasat mission were serendipitous. In preparation for the major NASA initiative for the next decade, the Earth Observing Satellite program, it was thought timely to bring some of the Seasat experiences to the fore, since valuable lessons can be learned from the successes and the failures (or omissions) of the Seasat program. Data have been obtained about: (1) the synergistic value of integrated overlapping sampling by several instruments, (2) the invaluable contribution of carefully planned surface measurements, and (3) the importance of retaining flexibility in the system (enough data retention) to allow unexpected and innovative analysis techniques. 72 refs.