How Satellites Are Being Used For Climate Change Monitoring
Satellites can be the perfect tool for monitoring oceans, land surfaces, and atmospheric conditions with great precision. They detect greenhouse gasses, such as CO2, chlorofluorocarbons, and many others; sea levels; ozone levels; solar radiation; land surface temperature; and a whole lot more.
"That what is not measured cannot be managed" is an often-cited phrase that perfectly explains what satellite data means to the war against climate change. It is through just satellite observations that we managed to track more than half of the 21 Essential Climate Variables.
Monitoring Sea Levels
Rising sea levels, among the various signs of climate change, are one of the positive indicators. Glaciers and sea ice melting; thermal expansion of ocean water; and elevated temperatures are main causes for rising sea levels. However, satellites have enabled very accurate, down to millimetre precision, measurements of that change! These radiometers enable satellites to measure temperatures at the surface of the ocean.
By measuring how much of the heat radiated from the surface, then comparing it with the amount absorbed by the surrounding waters, they were able to tell if the ocean raised. Otherwise, measuring that allows one to tell us the rate at which the sea level rises.
From the set of satellites, we can also check change in conditions in ice and permafrost. This would be an indication of how the climate changes, as seen from Canada's RADARSAT series or Europe's SMOS.
A scientists group at the RAL Space are taking the plans to develop an Earth satellite of the size of an SUV, which will get known as NISAR, and will be able to scan all ocean surfaces for changes in sea ice at a very high resolution, up to five times more than is currently possible with technology.
Monitoring Greenhouse Gasses
Satellites will assist in measuring the entire global greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. They trap heat, warming the surface of the earth, usually from human activity. Protecting natural forests represent really an important way by which there is a reduction in their concentration because deforestation emits huge amounts of CO2 and destroys biodiversity. For this, one can use satellites for deforestation monitoring, which allows governments and organizations combating climate changes to monitor progress on this front.
Geostationary satellites such as NOAA's GOES provide a continuous observation of the part of the Earth, through which scientists may compare the data collected during various periods and better understand the evolution of its climate over time.
The tidal polar-orbiting satellites cover all ocean and ice cap conditions on Earth and help scientists gain insight into how oceans are responding to climate change effects and what those impacts are on global weather patterns.
Covering 70% of the Earth's surface and playing a vital role in driving climate and weather dynamics, oceans also have a lot to say regarding such satellites. They are another well-known source of information on ocean conditions-such as sea surface temperatures, swells, and wind speeds, which can be tracked.
Use of satellite data for tracking oceanic pollution means researchers would have a channel to monitor pollution every year as it goes into oceans by tens of thousands of tons of plastics, which has already helped governments as well as non-government organizations to devise more compatible ways for addressing those issues.
Monitoring Ice and Permafrost
The ice caps and glaciers of Earth would be integrated into the technology that maintains the world's climate balance by absorbing solar radiation, making habitats for very special biodiversity. Unfortunately, climate change makes such delicate environments vulnerable, which is why they should be monitored via satellites.
Satellites can see Polar ice in bands of light that are invisible to humans. From visible frequencies that work like cameras to microwave frequencies, which fall along the most challenging wavelengths in penetrating cloud and long winter season, satellite data enables scientists to listen to the changes in glacier structures, Antarctic ice shelves, and permafrost.
The experts currently understand that when permafrost melts, it releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere then resulting in elevated levels of greenhouse gases. In the last 30 years, the thawed permafrost has been globally monitored by different devices like GRACE, synthetic aperture radar (SAR)-like TanDEM-X, ALOS PALSAR, and COSMO-Skymed, airborne radars such as UAVSAR, and ground-based observations like thermokarst, soil density and dynamics.
Climate satellite operations currently total more than 162, forming a global picture of how the world is changing. But technology alone does not tell the entire story; how we turn those powerful tools to practical purposes-for tracking of global temperatures, monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, or understanding weather patterns-all enhance our ability to prepare for and adapt to climate change.
Monitoring Weather
From satellites conveys certain parameters that reflect the conditions of cloud cover, precipitation, sea-surface temperature, air temperatures, winds, analysis of natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, as well as man-made such as fires. Satellites also enable reading levels of pollutions, for instance, with NASA's Terra satellite and MOPITT instrumental pair-the capture by the pollutants included-carbon monoxide, a byproduct of almost complete combustion-all detected over the whole city.
With the global picture, satellite operations on climate include everything from NOAA's Polar Operational Environmental Satellites to the European Space Agency's Sentinel series satellites-the kind of instruments that give us the good measure of international changes, among other things: ocean levels, greenhouse gas concentrations, atmospheric chemical fluxes, and the like.
Even if satellites display such marvelous possibilities of monitoring the climate, there are still some great hindrances on the road. One of them is the launch costs; it can limit scientists without government funding to critical data. An alternative route to circumvent this would be, because way would more such as OSAM-on-orbit servicing assembly and manufacturing that would allow regular payload upgrades-for cost-saving-plus-extended lifetime satellites.