We now know that 2023 was the warmest year on record. This fact will have ramifications for food, water, and health worldwide. But how do scientists actually generate such detailed profiles of Earth’s temperatures?
This animated map from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) provides some insights. You can see the network of stations and instruments used to observe and analyze 2023’s record temperatures. It’s a unique look at a part of the infrastructure that underpins global climate science.
The map groups weather stations and sensors into one of six categories. Some of these assets like the thousands of land stations reporting to the Global Historical Climatology Network monthly (GHCNm) dataset, are fixed locations. Others, like the drifting buoys and ships that report to International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (IOCADS), move around our oceans.
As the map plays and Earth spins, you can spot a few patterns. Land-based stations densely cover the US, Europe, Japan, and other populated areas. Drifting buoys, like those in the Argo program, follow currents and even float across the Arctic Ocean.
While the map doesn’t differentiate between commercial, naval, and research vessels, there are some hints. Most ships tend to follow coastlines or well-defined shipping lanes. You can even see ships transiting the Suez and Panama Canals. Others travel between the fixed buoy stations in the Pacific Ocean before returning to land.
Although they’re not shown here, satellites also play a role in measuring temperatures. They reinforce observations at locations reflected in the map and fill in gaps between them. The modern climate record is a synthesis of in situ data and satellite measurements.
Perhaps more than anything else, this map reflects the global nature of climate science. It emphasizes how collaboration and data sharing are pivotal to understanding our planet. And it shows what we can achieve when people work together and share information for the common good.
