Coastal Ocean Environment

Abstract

The coastal oceans are shallow portions of the global oceans. The coastal waters are important resources for developments of aquaculture, fishing, mining, and shipping industries, oil and gas production, as well as tour and recreation. More than 40% of world population lives within 100km of the coastline. Thus, protection of the coastal oceans is a great task for the human being. The coastal oceans, however, are adversely affected by human in many ways including overfishing, industrial pollution, and agricultural/river runoff. These practices may in turn affect the coastal communities as fish availability varies, algal blooms occasionally occur, and water quality fluctuates through time. As the number of people living along the coast continues to increase, the impact of these activities on the coastal ecosystem will only intensify. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor and understand how the coastal ocean environment and ecosystems are affected by both natural and human-caused impacts. This article briefs advances in applications of spaceborne and airborne remote-sensing technologies to monitoring of coastal ocean environment.