Università Roma Tre

Space and timescales of physical oceanographic phenomena. Shape and topography of ocean basins. Continental shelf, slope and rise. Physical properties of seawater: pressure, temperature, heat, salinity, density. Equation of state.

Basic sampling characteristics: interval, duration, accuracy. Burst sampling versus continuous sampling. Temperature measurement. Salinity/Conductivity/Temperature-Depth Profilers. The practical salinity scale. Sea-level measurements: tide and pressure gauges. The case of Italian National Tidegraph - Rete Mareografica Nazionale (RMN). Eulerian currents measurements: Acoustic Doppler Current Meter. Lagrangian current measurements: modern drifter, subsurface floats (ARGO floats), Gliders and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV). Wind and waves measurements: buoys. The case of Italian National Wavemeter Network - Rete Ondametrica Nazionale (RON). Chemical tracers: Dissolved oxygen and nutrients.

Definition of remote sensing. Satellite orbits and their applications. Geosynchronous and Sun-synchronous satellites. Imaging techniques: cross-track, hybrid cross-track and along-track scanners. Resolution. The nature of electromagnetic radiation. Plank’s Law and Blackbody Emission. Atmospheric properties and radiative transfer: absorption, emission and scattering. Reflection, transmission and absorption at the atmosphere/ocean interface: absorption and scattering properties of seawater. Ocean color: absorption and scattering by phytoplankton, particulates and dissolved material. Infrared observation of Sea Surface Temperature (SST). Radar and oceanic backscatter. Altimetrics satellite. Satellite imaging radars: synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and side-looking radar (SLR).

Copernicus EU Earth Observation Satellites: The Sentinel and Contributing Missions. Copernicus Services: Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS). Access and use of CMEMS products and services.

Integration of in-situ and satellite observing system in oceanic and costal hydrodynamic modelling. Downscaling and upscaling. Planning of in-situ monitoring programme with integration with CMEMS products for coastal and off-shore infrastructures design.

[DPO] Talley, L.D. et al (2011), Descriptive Physical Oceanography, Sixth Edition, Elsevier
[DAMPO] Thomson, R.E., Emery, W.J. (2014), Data Analysis Methods in Physical Oceanography, Third Edition, Elsevier
[ORS] Martin, S. (2014), An introduction to Ocean Remote Sensing, Second Edition, Cambridge University Press