Meteorological applications of remote sensing from satellites

Satellites provide meteorologists with a data source unmatched at comparable spatial and temporal coverage by any existing or practical alternate source. There are limitations, however, both instrumental and fundamental, imposed on the achievable resolution and accuracy. Current and promising future contributions to meteorology from satellite-borne sensors are discussed, with emphasis on performance and the limitations thereto. The discussion covers 1) synoptic meteorology where satellite observations of clouds provide measures of winds, cyclogenesis, and rainfall estimation; 2) atmospheric profiling wherein vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, and certain gaseous constituents are provided; 3) radiation budget or the energy exchange between the earth and the space-sun environment; and 4) surface features of importance to meteorology-temperature, soil moisture, and sea ice coverage. Satellites will be extensively used as data collectors and relays from in situ instruments on buoys, balloons, and fixed earth sites. The accuracy and coverage of such observations, however, will be determined by the in situ sensors and not by the satellite. They are therefore not discussed here.