Satellite oceanography and climate change

Satellites are essential tools in the present monitoring of climate change as they provide frequent measurements of the Earth over decades with significantly high spatial resolution. Satellite measurements of sea surface temperature are a key component in the analyses of global warming and its effects. Altimeters and gravity missions such as GRACE are used to measure sea level rise at global and regional scales. A variety of satellite sensors (microwave and visible radiometers, scatterometers, SAR, gravity sensors, altimeters, etc.) are used for tracking the melting of sea ice and continental ice over the Polar Regions and Greenland. Satellite techniques are used to monitor large scale natural climate oscillations such as El Niño and the influence of atmospheric teleconexions such as NAO. The present issue is the first one of a series of issues updating our knowledge of the satellite-observed variability related to climate change. A short introduction to the topic is presented.