Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have teamed up with the University of Maryland and North Carolina State University to form the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites. The new institute will use satellite observations to detect, monitor and forecast climate change, and its impact on the environment, including ecosystems. 

Pretty cool stuff and here is why.  Surface based observations (thermometers) can be skewed more easily than satellite data due to urban heat island effects, sporatic spatial coverage of observation sites in some areas, and localized climate/weather phenomena.  Satellites are better for looking at the “big picture” and are a much more objective way of determining temperature using their infrared channels.

You can see more on the partnership here

Check back with me tomorrow, I will introduce you to Dr. Roy Spencer from the University of Alabama-Huntsville.  He uses satellites for studying climate change too and has an interesting perspective on the ever evolving climate of the Earth.