Description
Since the pre-industrial period, human activities are estimated to have increased Earth’s global average temperature by about 1.1 degree Celsius (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2021), a number that is currently increasing by 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade (GISS Surface Temperature Analysis, 2021). The increase in global average temperature is driven by increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other human activities (IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, 2021).
Scientists use observations from the ground, air, and space, along with theoretical models and scenarios of future emissions, to monitor and study past, present, and future climate change. Climate data records provide evidence of climate change key indicators such as global land and ocean temperature increases; rising sea levels; ice loss at Earth’s polar regions and in mountain glaciers; frequency and severity changes in extreme weather such as hurricanes, heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, floods, and precipitation; and cloud and vegetation cover changes, to name but a few. This climate information is a fundamental basis for mitigation, adaptation, and risk management planning in all parts of the world and across many elements of society and ecosystems.
This two-part, introductory training series, co-produced by NASA's Applied Remote Sensing Training Program (ARSET) and NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), provides an overview of NASA resources for monitoring climate change and its impacts. The training defines the terminology and the role of Earth observations in climate change assessment, and then provides an overview of NASA climate models suitable for emissions policy, impacts, risk, and resilience applications.