The HRPT station at IRMA-CNR in Mazara del Vallo for the acquisition and analysis of satellite data in the Strait of Sicily

The satellite data receiving station recently installed at IRMA-CNR is presented. It consists of a set of hardware and software and receives visible and infrared images from NOAA and ORBVIEW satellites. The images are received (NOAA and SeaWiFS) with a resolution of 1 square kilometre. The institute is currently developing treatment protocols for the image processing according to the use the images are destined for. A review of the remote-sensing applications is made for different fields of research and management. A focus is made on the study of the Strait of Sicily where the objective is to connect the knowledge on physical environment to information provided by remote-sensing data. Future application would be to use parameters such as temperature and ocean colour of the sea surface to monitor and forecast the biological productivity of the water column and ultimately the state of the fishery resources.