Subsurface and deeper ocean remote sensing from satellites: An overview and new results

• Subsurface ocean processes are derived from surface features.
• Satellite data are used to model 3-D ocean thermohaline structures.
• Satellites are used to characterize mixed layer depth and meddies.
• Remote sensing and modeling of subsurface processes are reviewed.
• Deep ocean warming due to climate change and recent climate hiatus is discussed.

Satellite remote sensors cannot see far beneath the surface layers of the ocean. Yet many important ocean processes and features are located well below the surface and at considerable depths. Examples include Mediterranean Eddies (meddies), mixed layer depth, internal waves, and bottom topography. Deeper ocean remote sensing is becoming even more important because recent data seem to indicate that the deeper ocean is responding to climate variability and change. Many of these subsurface phenomena have surface manifestations which can be interpreted with the help of models to derive key parameters of deeper ocean processes. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of satellite remote sensing and modeling techniques which enable scientists to characterize subsurface and deeper ocean processes and features and to present some new results.