SUMMARY - How We Measure the Planet: Satellites, Stations, and Sensors
Before scientists can project future climate change, they must first measure the present—and document the past. The global network of climate observation systems represents one of humanity's largest and most sustained scientific enterprises: satellites circling the planet, weather stations dotting continents, buoys floating across oceans, ice cores preserving ancient atmospheres. Understanding how we measure the planet reveals both the remarkable scope of our observation capabilities and the persistent gaps that remain.