CLIMATE MONITORING

Satellite data play a pivotal role in observing variability and change in the Earth system. Significant progress has been made in observing the Earth globally with higher temporal and spatial resolutions, which before the advent of satellites was all but impossible. With satellite observations of the Earth, we have been able to construct global views of many variables across the atmospheric, oceanic and terrestrial domains, including ozone, cloud cover, precipitation, aerosol optical depth, sea surface topography, fluctuation in polar ice mass, and changes to the land surface. Indeed, with some satellite observations now spanning more than 40 years, this type of information for climate monitoring purposes is now invaluable.