Meteorology

"Meteorology applies physical and mathematical methods to understand and forecast the processes that determine our weather. Weather forecasting is a highly complex process in which measurement technology and high performance computing are just as important as the laws of physics and chemistry. For a numerical weather forecast to work, atmospheric data need to be collected, quality controlled and assimilated with suitable integrated weather models. Forecasts are continuously being validated to obtain guidance for further improvements.

"Climatology has been regarded as a subdiscipline of Meteorology for quite some time. Early climate classifications refer to temperature and precipitation as the main factors determining regional climate. Climate parameters such as the occurence of vegetation types, the length of the vegetation period as well as the date of flower blossoms indicate the multidisciplinary character of climatology. Today, climatology or climate research is also referred to as geobiosphere dynamics. It describes the complex interrelations between climate subsystems such as the atmosphere, land, oceans and the biosphere. Despite the considerable growth of the field's scope, meteorology remains central to it, not least because the atmosphere represents the most important transport medium of the climate system" 

Climate change has been called the defining challenge of our time. Its impacts are already evident and will intensify over time if left unaddressed. As part of the global array of networks of systems to monitor climate change, satellites now provide a vital and important means of bringing observations of the climate system together for a global perspective. Satellites contribute to the monitoring of greenhouse gases related to deforestation and industrial processes, the changing of ice in polar caps and glaciers, sea-level rise, temperature changes, as well as several essential climate variables (University of Vienna, 2018).