Environment and climate monitoring using satellites

Summary

Over 150 Earth observation satellites are presently orbiting our planet. Their primary mission is to supply researchers with data to identify environmental changes on Earth. Given that over half of the climate variables can only be measured from space, these satellites are essential for monitoring the impacts of climate change on natural ecosystems. Some example environmental and climate change related aspects which can be studied using satellite observation are:

Subsidence: groundwater extraction can result in the subsidence of land and is a particular challenge in low-lying coastal areas considering sea-level rise.
Landslides: natural and man-made earth slopes can be at risk of landslides, particularly during periods of heavy rain. The triggers/pre-cursors for landslides can be studied using satellite observation and are particularly important considering the earths changing precipitation patterns.
Deforestation and afforestation: satellite data and imagery can be used to study changes in green space over time, for example using satellite-based vegetation indices.
Disasters: natural and man-made disasters can be studied using satellites. For example, oil spills and wildfires.
Flooding: floods pose risk to human life and have large associated socio-economic costs. They can be studied and better understood using satellite observation.
Drought: erratic rainfall patterns, increasing global temperatures and declines in soil moisture content can have a negative impact on global food security and sustainable development. They can be studied on a large scale via satellites.
Coastal erosion: natural and man-made coastal defences are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as sea-level rise. Satellites can be used to study their degradation over time considering projected sea-level rise.
Air quality: air pollution has negative effects on human health and agriculture. Satellite monitoring can be used to study changes in air pollution over time.
Environmental justice: environmental factors like heat exposure, access to green space and air quality are not evenly distributed across the world. Satellite data can be used to study their distribution.

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