Development of an Expert System for Interpretation of Oceanographic Images

19. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse il necessary and identify by block number) Satellite imagery of the oceans has become an invaluable tool for the oceanographer, adding the breadth of synoptic coverage to the depth of in situ measurements at a few points. But the deluge of oceanographic data expected to come from satellites in the near future will pose severe problems for operational interpreters that will be added to the problems caused by the impracticality of automated image understanding and the uneven quality of human interpretation by different analysts. Expert systems offer a possible way out of the dilemma.