How NASA tracks the invisible gas driving global climate change
In short: This briefing explores NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission, a dedicated effort to map the Earth's carbon dioxide. Discover how this mission identifies the specific sources and natural sinks of the primary greenhouse gas affecting our climate.
NASA's inaugural mission focused on monitoring atmospheric carbon dioxide, the primary anthropogenic greenhouse gas fueling climate shifts, is the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2). By gathering detailed global measurements on a daily basis, the mission seeks to pinpoint exactly where carbon emissions originate and where they are being stored.
This data provides scientists with a critical tool to distinguish between human and natural sources of carbon dioxide. Furthermore, the mission investigates natural 'sinks'—the processes that absorb carbon dioxide and help regulate its buildup in the atmosphere.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 Mission Prelaunch News Conference
- Also: OCO-2 - NASA Science
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