Abstract
In 2011, dozens of satellites are collecting measurements on the atmosphere, continents, oceans, ice caps and interior. Government agencies such as the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) operate many of them. In many cases, satellite data is sold to companies that analyze it, construct new data products and sell these. A good example is a weather company. It buys satellite data, uses it to make detailed weather forecasts, and then sells these forecasts to airlines. An airline, such as Delta, then uses the forecasts to determine whether it is safe to fly an aircraft or what areas will have extreme air turbulence. A flight might also be diverted to another airport because of extreme wind shear. Wind shear is able to tear a plane apart and, hence, this diversion may have save lives. Wind shear is described in Chap. 1.
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Schmude, R. (2012). Earth Observing and Weather Satellites. In: Artificial Satellites and How to Observe Them. Astronomers' Observing Guides. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3915-8_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3915-8_3
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