Why Does NASA Oppose Satellites? A Modest Proposal For A Better Data Set

Climate Skeptic: Why Does NASA Oppose Satellites? A Modest Proposal For A Better Data Set

One of the ironies of climate science is that perhaps the most prominent opponent of satellite measurement of global temperature is James Hansen, head of ... wait for it ... the Goddard Institute for Space Studies at NASA! As odd as it may seem, while we have updated our technology for measuring atmospheric components like CO2, and have switched from surface measurement to satellites to monitor sea ice, Hansen and his crew at the space agency are fighting a rearguard action to defend surface temperature measurement against the intrusion of space technology.

For those new to the topic, the ability to measure global temperatures by satellite has only existed since about 1979, and is admittedly still being refined and made more accurate. However, it has a number of substantial advantages over surface temperature measurement:

* It is immune to biases related to the positioning of surface temperature stations, particularly the temperature creep over time for stations in growing urban areas.
* It is relatively immune to the problems of discontinuities as surface temperature locations are moved.
* It is much better geographic coverage, lacking the immense holes that exist in the surface temperature network.