Just wondering......why do the climate scientists ignore satellite data?
Because the satellite data is a far inferior product. Using bad data when good data is available is a form of dishonesty.
First, the satellite data is twiddled and adjusted far more than surface data. Here's some discussion on how just complicated it is.
http://www.nsstc.uah.edu/data/msu/t2lt/readme.06Nov2014
Satellites don't measure temperature directly. They measure microwave radiation. At different angles, different times of day, though different cloud covers, humidity levels, all kinds of wildly varying conditions. Converting microwave data to temperature uses a great deal of guesswork. In contrast, surface data measures temperature directly, It is adjusted very little, and is a model of straightforwardness and simplicity in comparison to satellite data..
Second, satellite data doesn't measure surface temperatures. It measures mid-tropospheric temperature. We're interested in surface temperatures, so it's pretty stupid to use mid-tropospheric temperatures instead of surface temperatures.
Even the people who make the satellite data point out it's not designed for use in climate studies.
Upper Air Temperature Remote Sensing Systems
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All microwave sounding instruments were developed for day to day operational use in weather forecasting and thus are typically not calibrated to the precision needed for climate studies.
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