Geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites provide information for both weather prediction and long-term climate records. In 2006, budgetary constraints resulted in the loss of several U.S. satellite measurement capabilities, mainly those involved with the study of long-term climate records. A new report from the National Research Council, ENSURING THE CLIMATE RECORD FROM THE NPOESS AND GOES-R SPACECRAFT: ELEMENTS OF A STRATEGY TO RECOVER MEASUREMENT CAPABILITIES LOST IN PROGRAM RESTRUCTURING, reviews the lost measurement capabilities and makes recommendations on how they could be recovered. The report also prioritizes these capabilities in terms of their importance to long-term climate research.
Source: The National Academies