CIESIN Thematic Guides The Sea-viewing Wide Field of View Sensor (SeaWiFS), slated for deployment in 1994, is expected to provide ocean color data critical for understanding and quantifying the role of ocean primary production, such as plankton, in global biogeochemistry. Data obtained from SeaWiFS will be used to assess the ocean's role in the global carbon cycle as well as the exchange of other critical elements and gases between the atmosphere and ocean. Hooker and Esaias (1993) provide further information in "An Overview of the SeaWIFS Project."
Although SeaWiFS is intended primarily for natural science research and commercial purposes, the project also provides data that serve human dimensions interests related to ocean dynamics, such as the status of fisheries, the effects of land-cover change in coastal regions, and the location, extent, and dispersion of pollutants. The SeaWIFS Home Page provides access to the background, current status, and documentation for SeaWIFS.