Chapter 1 - Remote sensing of climate variability: An introduction

Abstract

Climate variability and change are complex phenomena with adverse impacts on the biophysical and socioeconomic systems. The impacts of climate change require the development of methods and approaches for understanding their effects and developing mitigation and adaptation options. Drought and floods, which are associated with climate variability and change, have caused notable fatalities and financial losses. Climate variability and change are driven by internal and external factors such as solar activity, volcanic eruptions, El Niño and La Niña, and anthropogenic activities. Despite the equivocal nature of evidence related to climate change and variability, significant consensus has been reached regarding their drivers and impacts. Thus remote sensing has become an invaluable tool in the study of climate change by providing data on various environmental parameters. The information gathered from remote sensing has enhanced our understanding of large-scale patterns and trends in the climate system and provided valuable scientific evidence required for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Thus, this chapter provides an overview of key concepts related to remote sensing of climate variability and change, focusing on key drivers of climate variability as well as evidence proffered by climate scientists to explain this phenomenon. The chapter concludes by providing an overview of remote sensing programs aimed at understanding the climate system.