The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) may help scientists answer key questions about how carbon cycles between Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, and land.
Published Jul 3, 2014
NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 has compiled its first year of data and started quantifying the cycles of emission and absorption of the greenhouse gas.
Published Dec 12, 2015
Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations reached record levels in 2013.
Published Sep 27, 2013
NASA’s new Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 calibrated its sensors by taking data from an area where ground stations could provide ground truth.
Published Nov 7, 2014
Measurements from OCO-2 will provide a baseline for monitoring changes in emissions.
Published Nov 17, 2016
Satellites observe a massive bloom of coccolithophore plankton in July 2012.
Published Jul 31, 2012
This satellite image of the summit of Mauna Loa overlaid with contour lines helps illustrate why volcanic emissions from the summit rarely reach the observatory where atmospheric carbon dioxide is measured.
Published Mar 19, 2010
As global and regional warming continues, winter emissions of carbon dioxide from Arctic lands are offsetting what plants absorb in the summer.
Published Nov 19, 2019
By providing a measurement of all of the carbon being stored in Earth’s plants, maps like these help scientists figure out what happens to the carbon people release by burning fossil fuels.
Published Jul 8, 2011
This map of plant photosynthesis was the first of its kind from the MODIS instrument, which was launched in December 1999 on the Terra spacecraft.
Published Jun 5, 2000
This pair of images show patterns of forest clearing and regrowth in Wasghington state over 26 years. Such images help scientists understand how human decisions impact the carbon cycle and Earth’s climate.
Published Jul 5, 2011
Concentrations of the gas, which is produced by burning carbon-based fuels, have decreased since 2000.
Published Jun 2, 2015
As scientists detect plant fluorescence in better detail, they inch closer to helping farmers respond to extreme weather and close in on understanding how carbon cycles through ecosystems.
Published Jul 10, 2020
Waste natural gas from industrial oil and gas fields could be a source of nitrogen dioxide and black carbon pollution, according to new research.
Published Apr 27, 2016
