Achievement in Earth remote sensing awarded to satellite data pioneer

Sea surface temperatures during Hurricane Katrina captured from NASA's Aqua satellite (Credit: NASA, via Wikimedia Commons)

The USGS and NASA granted the 2013 William T. Pecora Award for achievement in Earth remote sensing to a professor at Oregon State University, Corvallis, according to a USGS press release.

Dudley B. Chelton, distinguished professor of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, received the award in recognition for his advancements to remote monitoring and education. Chelton was among the first to use satellite data to detail the ocean’s function in the global climate. In 1981, he published a paper in Nature that established the benefits of satellite monitoring, and has spent three decades refining satellite measurement capabilities.

The Pecora Award is presented by the Department of the Interior and NASA for contributions to remote sensing as a means of exploring the Earth.

Image: Sea surface temperatures during Hurricane Katrina captured from NASA’s Aqua satellite (Credit: NASA, via Wikimedia Commons)