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, 2014NASA’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, 2015Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations reached record levels in 2013.
Published Sep 27, 2013NASA’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, 2014Measurements from OCO-2 will provide a baseline for monitoring changes in emissions.
Published Nov 17, 2016Satellites observe a massive bloom of coccolithophore plankton in July 2012.
Published Jul 31, 2012This 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, 2010As global and regional warming continues, winter emissions of carbon dioxide from Arctic lands are offsetting what plants absorb in the summer.
Published Nov 19, 2019By 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, 2011This 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, 2000This 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, 2011Concentrations of the gas, which is produced by burning carbon-based fuels, have decreased since 2000.
Published Jun 2, 2015As 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, 2020Waste 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