14 DAY TRIAL // At this point, a number of scientific instruments orbits the planet, collecting data about its temperatures and their trends. Designed and built by an international team of experts, led by scientists at the University of Leicester, in the United Kingdom, the Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) instruments are managed by the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. The lab called a symposium today, in order to present its findings to the world, AlphaGalileo reports.
The goal of the scientific payload is to keep an eye on the planet's temperature, and to track its variations over extended periods of time. Its preliminary observation results show, without any shadow of a doubt, a significant and constant warming trend on the surface of the Earth, from the 1990s to the present day. This is the first data set from such an instrument to reveal the long-term changes in the average global sea-surface temperatures.
“We have managed to bring about a very challenging transition, from scientific experiment to operational monitoring instrument. The ATSR series of instruments have been a real triumph to the many people who have contributed to their development. We are delighted that the European Space Agency has taken up the responsibility of maintaining their continuity and building their own version,” UL Physics and Astronomy Department Professor David Llewellyn-Jones says. The scientist is also the principal investigator for the ATSR probes.
The three radiometers that are mounted on the instruments have been measuring temperature variations on the planet's surface since 1991, and they are extremely sensitive to any kind of changes. The ATSR offer the highest precision and stability for any device of this kind in the world, which makes them specially suitable for orbital-temperature observations. From their unique vantage point, they are perfectly qualified to measure changes without being influenced by them. Funding for these probes came from the UK Department for Energy and Climate Change.