Carbon dioxide satellite mission returns first global maps

3rdRock · Post by **3rdRock** » 18 Dec 2014, 22:54

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30399073

Nasa's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) has returned its first global maps of the greenhouse gas CO2.

The satellite was sent up in July to help pinpoint the key locations on the Earth's surface where carbon dioxide is being emitted and absorbed.

This should help scientists better understand how human activities are influencing the climate.

The new maps contain only a few weeks of data in October and November, but demonstrate the promise of the mission.

Clearly evident within the charts is the banding effect that describes how emitted gases are mixed by winds along latitudes rather than across them.

PS_RalphW · Post by **PS_RalphW** » 19 Dec 2014, 06:31

The frightening thing from this is not the huge emissions from China or the small concentration rise over the us east coast, it is the massive emissions from the DODGY TAX AVOIDERS forest. If this is due to drought causing the forest to emit co2 on this scale, it shows the potential for natural positive feedbacks to cause runaway warming.

If this doesn't convince skeptics of the danger nothing will.

3rdRock · Post by **3rdRock** » 19 Dec 2014, 07:38

Sadly, it won't.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 19 Dec 2014, 08:19

PS_RalphW wrote:The frightening thing from this is not the huge emissions from China or the small concentration rise over the us east coast, it is the massive emissions from the DODGY TAX AVOIDERS forest. If this is due to drought causing the forest to emit co2 on this scale, it shows the potential for natural positive feedbacks to cause runaway warming.

There must be other things going on. There are positive anomalies in diverse locations - central southern Africa, the north Pacific, off southern Greenland... I don't think it is obvious why there are China and Brazil anomalies.

PS_RalphW · Post by **PS_RalphW** » 19 Dec 2014, 09:11

Indonesia is cutting their remaining rain forest almost as fast as Brazil.

Southern Africa is obviously different. The emissions are probably seasonal. The pulses over the oceans may have drifted there from land areas to the west, but the North Pacific ocean has been unusually warm this year, as a result of the on/off El-nino. It might relate to ocean sea life, or even de-gassing for CO2 directly.

More research urgently needed.