We describe one of possible mechanisms of the formation of anomalies of the cloud field over the North Atlantic and Europe by using, as an example, the processes developed in the Atlantic-European sector during the natural synoptic season in the spring of 1996. It is shown that the anomalies of the cloud field can be classified with the use of the index of the North Atlantic oscillation and the latitude of the center of the Azorean maximum.

The paper describes the functional scheme of the soft- and hardware complex designed to receive, to treat and to disseminate satellite and reference hydrometeorological data. The complex displays a high degree of integration and unification of soft- and hardware techniques and packages. The operation of the complex is studied through the monitoring of cloud fields in the Atlantic-European section of the Northern hemisphere during the winter-time synoptic season of 1995–1996. The complex is shown to be capable of identifying large-scale cloud anomalies and of estimating their coherence in the individual regions of the Atlantic-European zone.

The paper discusses the results of the recovery of the sea surface temperature (SST) in a large-scale hydrological test area. Data from the NOAA AVHRR radiometer (APT mode) and measurements of the surface temperature by a sensor towed by an RV, by an 'STD' sensor and by drifting 'LOBAN TM' buoys were used. The paper describes the data measurement and processing methods. Maps of the spatial distributions of the SST are compared. A numerical estimate of the accuracy of the recovery of the SST field from satellite data is given.

Digitized NOAA satellite data acquired in Summer 1991 in the monitoring mode is used to study the radiation and energy state of the sea-atmosphere system as a function of the heliogeomagnetic activity, taking into account the 27-day period of rotation of the Sun around its natural axis.

Based on satellite and ground observations for the period 1986-1988, the paper considers the entry into the Southern European territory of the USSR (ETU) of cyclones born in the Mediterranean basin. The effect of solar activity on cyclonic activity in this region is analysed.

We considered the procedure of digital processing of IR data on the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea obtained at the automated data reception station (ADRS) operated by the Marine Hydrophysical Institute, UkSSR Academy of Sciences during the daily and nightly communication session with the NOAA satellite in the APT regime. Two methods were used: a histogram method (for the daily one-channel measurements) and a spectral-angular one (for the nightly dual-channel measurements). As a result, 117 and 99 digital charts of the sea surface radiation temperatures, respectively, were obtained for these basins, as well as 10-day and monthly combinations of the nightly and partially daily digital images. The compositions derived by these two techniques have been compared with the data set for July, which was statistically most complete.