AI Could Clear Up Messy Satellite Views of Earth

11:10 AM ETDeveloping

Science Desk

In Short: Earth's hottest month on record in August highlights the urgency of climate change, but new AI technologies might help improve the clarity of satellite observations.

Taking a new perspective, researchers have synthesized two decades of observational and theoretical advances to understand the crucial role of ocean heat content, sea ice, and the planetary radiation balance. "The AMOC acts as an ocean heat valve regulating planetary temperature through Earth's radiative balance," explains David Bonan, a climate scientist at the University of Washington.

However, monitoring Earth from above is a messy, inconsistent business. Satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) can have their views of certain areas over the planet blocked by clouds, and this can happen repeatedly in many cases. Fraser, a space technology expert, discusses the challenges of Earth observation satellites, noting that clouds can block a satellite view, the angle of the Sun can create huge shadows, and orbital paths might not take a system across the same general area for weeks.

Modern society relies heavily on Earth observation, but collecting data in a meaningful way that is understandable to a deep learning system is complicated. "That level of regularity doesn’t happen in Earth observation," says Raul-Alexandru Gorgan, a researcher at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. But, according to a new review paper, there’s a new type of frontier AI that could be able to help - bio-inspired Liquid Neural Networks.

These bio-inspired Liquid Neural Networks could potentially clear up the view for Earth observation satellites. "These networks could help in processing and interpreting the data more effectively, even in the presence of clouds or other obstructions," Gorgan explains. This could lead to more consistent and reliable data collection, which is crucial for understanding and addressing climate change.

What's still developing

WASHINGTON — Earth cooked to its hottest month on record in August, blowing far past a key climate threshold, due to the dangerous double whammy of human-caused climate change and a supersized El Nino, according to the European climate service Copernicus.
That records are regularly getting broken, and that August and not July which is traditionally warmer set an all-time record, are signs that human-caused climate change is accelerating, Berkeley Earth climate scientist Zeke Hausfather said.

Sources

Universe Todaylink