GANDER Introduction

The weather is the biggest single cause of loss of goods and lives at sea. In 1998, for example, it was responsible for marine insurance losses of $2.65 billion, and over 1000 people died at sea. Losses such as these happen every year, despite the best meteorological forecasts, which are frequently not sufficiently accurate or timely to provide the information ship's masters require.

This situation would be immensely improved if there was a way to monitor the sea state in close to real time in all the world's oceans. Fortunately, advances in technology mean that this is now feasible - and a bold and exciting new venture known as GANDER (Global Altimetry Network Designed to Evaluate Risk) is now in its early stages. It involves the construction and launch of multiple low-cost micro-satellites that will continuously monitor surface wave heights and wind speeds at sea level using radar.