The oceans cover 71% of the Earth's surface, 95% are unexplored. Ocean exploitation and utilization are closely related to human survival and development, from the long-term impact on global climate change and large-scale phenomena, such as hurricanes, to sustainable development of ocean resources and ecosystems, and to sensitive issues in defense and security. Today, ocean research is widely enhanced by marine sensing technologies, including in situ sampling on buoys, floats, underwater vehicles, integrated sensor networks, and observatories, as well as remote sensing, such as airborne and satellite remote sensing (both active and passive). However, how to intelligently sense the ocean still poses numerous challenges. 
Marine sensing requires, not only the ability to sense data timely and accurately from multiple dimensions of space, sea surface and deep sea, but also the intelligence to integrate the data from different sensor systems to predict future environmental conditions, and support decision making. This Special Session intends to cover current technology and environmental limitations, system decision, implementation and application issues, as well as new technology that may be applied to marine sensing problems. Through research on in situ and remote monitoring of the ocean surface, water column, deep sea, bathymetric and benthic features, effective sensor network and communication systems, advanced sensor data processing and analysis techniques, and the related marine sensing applications, we wish to better understand the challenging ocean environments. 
This Special Session aims to bring together members of the industrial and scientific communities, to identify challenges confronted in ocean exploration and understanding, share and exchange novel ideas in developing future marine sensing technologies and applications, and investigate new technologies for solving key problems in marine sensing.