NOAA Long-term Operational Satellite Climate Data Records: Products, Applications, and Services

Due to rapid advances in the past half-century in climate observations, especially satellite observations from passive and active sensors of both geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites, climate observations are transitioning from the practice of individual, regional, and short-term observations to multiple, global, and long-term observations. Thus, long-term consistent Earth satellite observations—called climate data records (CDRs)—are becoming indispensable for providing information for improved detection, attribution, and prediction of global climate and environmental changes. They also help decision makers and society respond and adapt to climate change and variability in a resilient fashion. In this paper, we will provide a general overview of the products and service of NOAA long-term satellite CDRs along with their application in the study of climate and environment changes. Future development, opportunities, and challenges for the CDR research and usage will also be discussed.