Satellites that help monitor climate change are aging and won’t be replaced for years threatening to blind critical climate research for the United States.  And as this morning’s NPR broadcast points out, the potential loss of data could come at a time when the U.S. is making multibillion-dollar decisions about how to respond to climate change.  And as Andy pointed out last month, NASA scientists lost a new satellite intended to track carbon dioxide emissions, when it crashed into the ocean. According to Kathy Kelly, an oceanographer at the University of Washington who depends on satellite data for her research:

We’ll be blind for maybe a decade

Scientists are amazed that some of the existing satellites are still orbiting, and the proposed replacements may not be sufficient to track details that climate scientists need like the thickness of ice sheets, the exact temperature of oceans and the chemical composition of the atmosphere.  And while Obama’s stimulus package includes funding for new satellites, it could take between 5 and 10 years before they are put to use, creating massive gaps in research.

takepart by learning more about NASA’s climate change research efforts.