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.
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.
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.