SeaWinds data combined with other weather-watching data, like NOAA's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer, paint a picture favorable to hurricanes this season, Liu said.
The pictures come from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) satellite, and have been referred to as "The Black Marble" in reference to the famous "Blue Marble" daylight pictures.
The research was conducted by Nicola Scafetta, a scientist at Duke University and at the Active Cavity Radiometer Solar Irradiance Monitor Lab (ACRIM), which is associated with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.