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1/ Enough on fronts! Satellite oceanography 
is when you observe the oceans from space. There are many satellites with eyes on the ocean! It became a thing in the 1970s, so it is still quite recent, but has brought a lot of new insights!
is when you observe the oceans from space. There are many satellites with eyes on the ocean! It became a thing in the 1970s, so it is still quite recent, but has brought a lot of new insights!
2/ there are people focusing on dvping retrieval algorithms for satellites, on new satellite missions (SWOT), on how to get data from agencies to users, on how to analyze satellite observations for science.
3/ while NASA might be the most famous one, there are many spatial agencies contributing to sat. oce. across the world: CNES is the French one, ESA the European one, SANSA the South African one, JAXA the Japanese one...
4/ a very good book on the topic, for anyone interested:
from Seelye Martin. Definitely a good investment for people who want to learn more about satellite oceanography ;-)
from Seelye Martin. Definitely a good investment for people who want to learn more about satellite oceanography ;-)
5/ what can you measure from space, re- oceans? Temperature, salinity, ocean color (chlorophyll concentration and others), surface winds, and sea surface height (and some surface currents). Am I missing a variable? 
6/ why I like sat. oce ? Because I can look anywhere in the world and spot something interesting at any time. I can make stunning maps and animations from almost any data (if no clouds, aha). I can do that from my laptop, w/ some internet and patience.
7/ what are the challenges? spatio-temporal resolution, consistency btw variables, observing coastal areas, polar areas, places with lots of clouds (for temperature sometimes), large datasets... maybe other things too, aha :x
maybe other things too, aha :x
8/ want to get started, don't know how? a) shoot me an email! b) Matlab, or better, Python (free) is a good thing to know c) start small, and don't hesitate to google your questions: chances are s/one else had that issue before you and figured it out!
9/ want to have an idea of NASA satellites w/ missions focusing on Earth? SWOT and PACE are upcoming missions to measure ocean currents and rivers at much higher resolution, and phytoplankton types among others
10/ my personal goal: become proficient in several satellite variables, to combine them and answer new science questions! Through my PhD, I learned about temperature; my 1st postdoc, altimetry; my 2nd one, salinity and color :-)
