An ESA training course was held at the Institute of Oceanography of the University of Hamburg from 25 to 29 September 2006. The objective of the course was to provide first-hand information on a broad range of ocean research topics including key principles of SAR, Radar Altimetry, Ocean Colour and Sea Surface Temperature measurements, processing algorithms, data products and their use in oceanographic applications.

The course included lectures by leading scientists as well as hands-on computing exercises exposing students to remote sensing applications and illustrating the efficient use of software tools for the exploitation of data from the ASAR, RA, MERIS, and AATSR instruments onboard Envisat.

• SAR principles, data products and applications including oil pollution, ship detection, wave and wind field retrievals, oceanic eddies and fronts, underwater bottom topography, sea ice monitoring.
• MERIS ocean color principles, atmospheric correction and water constituents retrieval algorithms, products and applications.
• AATSR principles, atmospheric correction algorithms, comparison of microwave and infrared techniques for SST measurements, AATSR applications for oceanography.
• RA principles, atmospheric and geophysical corrections, algorithm for sea level, wave height and wind observations, and applications relevant for large scale and coastal oceanography.
• Synergy of data from different satellite sensors.

The training course was open to young researchers (Ph.D. students, young post-doc) from Europe wishing to expand and improve their knowledge and skills in ocean research.