SATELLITE ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING OF THE GREAT-LAKES - A REVIEW OF NOAAS GREAT-LAKES COASTWATCH PROGRAM

To address critical coastal environmental problems, the National Ocean ic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has established the Coastal O cean Program. Within that program, CoastWatch is designed to provide a rapid supply of up-to-date, coordinated, environmental information, i ncluding remotely sensed data, to support Federal and state decision m akers and researchers who are responsible for managing the Nation's li ving marine resources and ecosystems. This paper describes the NOAA Co astWatch program for the Great Lakes. The initial products of the Coas tWatch program, a set of surface water temperature images, are routine ly derived from NOAA AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) satellite data and made available within hours of acquisition. Prelimi nary analysis has shown excellent correlation of satellite-derived tem peratures with in situ water temperature measurements from mid-lake we ather buoys. Other products including turbidity, ocean color, and ice mapping are planned. Components of the Coast Watch system including a wide area communications system, on-line product data bases, an electr onically-accessible product archive, and PC software for display and a nalysis of the satellite imagery are also described.