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article imageMap of CO2 global distribution- Clumpy, oozy and ugly

Published Oct 10, 2008, by Paul Wallis
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Not too hard to follow the logic. Surface sources do dictate upper atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. A complex, but understandable, picture is emerging of systems which distribute CO2. This is raw science, but it’s learning a lot, fast.
Space Mart has the undersized map and technical info:

The team attributed the increased levels of carbon dioxide detected over the western North Atlantic to emissions transported from the Southeast U.S. on warm atmospheric "conveyor belts." These belts lift carbon dioxide from Earth's surface into the middle and upper troposphere.

The AIRS maps also showed enhanced carbon dioxide over the Mediterranean, resulting from North American and European sources. Carbon dioxide from South Asia ended up over the Middle East, while carbon dioxide from East Asia flowed out over the Pacific Ocean.

In the southern hemisphere, a belt of mid-tropospheric air containing enhanced concentrations of carbon dioxide emerged between 30 and 40 degrees south latitude. This belt had not previously been seen in the four chemistry-transport models used in this study.


The extreme importance of the Aqua mission and the work it’s doing is best seen on its site. If you ever need to explain the importance of space science to anyone, just send them the link.

This is one of a group of satellites in the Visible Earth network which are better known for tracking hurricanes and typhoons, but their capabilities are much more than just photographic. As you can see from the huge amount of data Aqua is getting, this is all current material, and the climate information is quite comprehensive.

The methane distribution map is another alarming picture of the way gases are operating in the atmosphere.

The “Spring bloom around New Zealand” is another indication of the versatility of these satellites. This is the extremely important algal bloom which is part of the vital food chain in the southern oceans.

The Visible Earth website is truly awesome, but as a user-tolerant site, it needs some work.

Finding the NASA version of the C02 map is a lot harder than it needs to be, even searching the site. I couldn’t find it, despite the NASA/JPL credits on Space Mart. In fact the maps need some work. They’re extremely interesting, and some APOD-like quality would help.

The significance of this work cannot be overstated. This is all relatively new science, and it's turning into one of the most important environmental monitors, doing real time holistic work which can't really be done effectively any other way. Grab a cup of something, and have a browse. It's mind blowing. There are decent size pictures for the things you can see on the site.

And let me know if you find that map.
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