Remote Sensing the Ocean Biosphere

Abstract

This article reviews the broad range of contemporary remote sensing technologies that can access the ocean, while emphasizing next-generation ones that might revolutionize the field. Significant challenges remain in studying the largest part of Earth's biosphere. As of 2022, less than 10% of the ocean has been imaged at a comparable resolution to the surface of the moon and Mars, despite comprising more than 90% of the habitable volume of our planet. Within the past five years, phenomena as modest as refractive ocean-wave distortion have finally been addressed, but steep technology maturation and challenges persist in remote sensing life in our oceans, hampering our understanding of rapidly changing ecosystems at a crucial inflection point in our history. We survey the field and share emerging technologies and trends, while motivating the case for a future Sustained Marine Imaging Program for the next decade in remote sensing the ocean biosphere.