However our knowledge of our oceans is limited. Ships, coastlines, and islands provide places from which we can observe, sample, and study small portions of Oceans. But we can only look at a very small part of the global ocean this way. We need a better place from which to study oceans. Space provides this place.
Satellites circling the Earth can survey an entire Ocean in less than an hour.
One other important characteristic that we can see from space is the color of the ocean. Changes in the color of ocean water over time or across a distance on the surface provide valuable information.