In
view of the tremendous progress achieved in the field of ocean remote sensing
during 1980s and the anticipated developments in the field during 1990s,
the Pacific Ocean Remote Sensing Conference (PORSEC) was constituted during
the International Space Year in 1990, through the initiative of scientists
from the Pacific Rim countries. It was to focus attention on the applications
of satellite and other forms of remote sensing in the Pacific Ocean and
the coastal zone of the Pacific Rim. PORSEC is hosted once
in every two years by different countries of the Pacific Rim.
The
series of conferences started with the first PORSEC held in Okinawa,
Japan. PORSEC ' 92 held in Okinawa received nearly 200 technical presentations
and 120 poster papers on topics as "diverse as
ocean radar, satellite altimetry, polar oceanography, data processing and
coastal management ". An International workshop on ocean colour was also
held simultaneously with the conference.
The
second conference was held at Melbourne, Australia in March
1994. Eighty three technical papers were received during the conference
and they were presented during 13 sessions,
each dealing with different research themes. PORSEC '
94 was jointly organised with the 7th Australian Remote
Sensing Conference (7 ARSC), Commission 5 of International
Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, and the Second Australian
Photogrammetry Conference, which provided a
rare opportunity for participants of PORSEC for cross interaction
between scientists, engineers and planners dealing with diverse issues
pertaining to ocean and coastal zone.
PORSEC
' 96 at Victoria, Canada, had drawn about 100 valuable technical
papers on different aspects of remote
sensing techniques and their applications.
PORSEC
' 98 at Quindao, China, was the 4th conference
of the series. Many technical papers on remote sensing applications
and other aspects on ocean sciences were presented.
During
PORSEC 98, it was decided to host PORSEC 2000 at the National Institute
of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, India.
