| | Envisat's applications - an introduction
Envisat has many specific applications
Envisat has many specific applications. Some of the satellite’s observations help in solving basic scientific questions, such as how the topography of the ocean changes with time, and how this information can be used to predict ocean circulation. Ocean circulation, in turn, has a major impact on weather patterns and climate.
Other questions have more immediate relevance to the political and commercial worlds, such as how Envisat’s observations can help in monitoring compliance with environmental treaties, or in the selection of wind farm locations at sea.
In this module, you will find examples of ways in which Envisat will deepen understanding of the Earth's system and contribute to Europe’s commercial hopes for Earth observation. These examples are the tip of a very large iceberg, and are intended only to give a flavour of the promise of Earth observation satellites. Scientists around Europe are already exploring the information Envisat relays to Earth.
Envisat’s instruments allow a large variety of applications in the following areas of environmental monitoring:
- Atmosphere: Trace gases in the troposphere and in the stratosphere, cloud and aerosols, solar ultra-violet (UV), atmospheric applications
- Meteorology, climate, and climate change: Climatology, carbon cycle, water cycle, sea/land/atmosphere interactions
- Oceanography: marine geoid and geodynamics, ocean circulation and sea level, wind and wave/sea state modelling, ocean color and sea surface temperature (SST), coastal zones, oil spills/ship detection, fisheries
- Cryosphere: Glaciology, sea ice, polar mass balance
- Hazards: Landslides, subsidence, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, fires, tsunami, typhoons, hurricanes
- Land applications: Mapping, land cover and land use, agriculture, forestry, vegetation, urban geology, Digital Elevation Models (DEM), inland waters, soil moisture, snow, permafrost, archaeology, epidemiology
- Environmental monitoring in support of international conventions
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