Earth's Outlook from Above

Fifty years after Sputnik, satellites peering down on Earth have become valuable scientific tools to study the global environment and offer much needed insight into the future of our planet.

March 2008

By Annie Reisewitz

A half century ago, the world changed dramatically. With the launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union followed by the U.S.'s Explorer 1, the Cold War got a bit colder and the space race officially began.

In today's warmer climate, hundreds of satellites operated by dozens of nations roam the skies, allowing us to see our neighborhood courtesy of Google Earth images and listen to Sirius satellite radio stations during the drive to work. Satellites not only help people stay connected 24/7, they provide an unmatched view from above into subtle changes occurring on Earth today.

The deployment of satellites launched into motion new scientific opportunities to study our planet on a complete range of spatial and temporal scales, from local to global, from minutes to decades. Many scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego count themselves among the beneficiaries of satellites' technological advancements, using Earth-orbiting satellites to tackle global environmental problems in a variety of scientific efforts. Whether they are used to predict weather, map the ocean floor, model atmosphere and ocean responses to climate change, assess the mass balance of ice sheets and sea level rise, investigate natural hazards, track change in Earth's gravity and magnetic fields, or monitor surface changes caused by human activities, satellite data are critical in providing detailed pictures of our home planet.

"Almost anything that we as scientists do nowadays that deals with the planet as a whole can only be done using satellite tools. We cannot easily cover the whole planet with just surface observational tools at an affordable cost," said Bernard Minster, a Scripps geophysics professor and leader of a recent National Research Council Committee study that commemorated 50 years of Earth observations from space.

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