Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 9.1 The Arctic, with the March 2009 sea extent (Image by Matt Savoie, National Snow and
Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, using SSM/I data overlaid onto the NASA Blue
Marble). The 60 N latitude circle is shown
The purpose of this chapter is to summarize satellite remote sensing methods and
applications for monitoring Arctic climate characteristics, including recent trends.
The emphasis will be on the physical climate system, though not all aspects of the
physical system can be examined here. Instead, methods and applications for
satellite remote sensing of the high latitudes will focus on winds, clouds, surface
temperature and albedo, and sea ice. Applications of satellite data sets to climate
change detection will also be described.
9.2 Winds
Satellite-derived wind fields are most valuable where few observations exist and
model analyses are less accurate as a result. Like the oceans at lower latitudes, the
polar regions suffer from a lack of observational data. World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) stations, which provide regular wind observations from
rawinsondes, are scattered across the coastal areas and the interior of Canada,
Alaska, Russia, and northern Europe. However, there is little or no coverage of
the Arctic Ocean, the interior of Greenland, the interior of Antarctica, and the
oceans surrounding Antarctica. With a gap in the observing systems over the polar
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