Following Carbon Dioxide Through the Atmosphere

Carbon dioxide plays a significant role in trapping heat in Earth's atmosphere. The gas is released from human activities like burning fossil fuels, and the concentration of carbon dioxide moves and changes through the seasons.

Using observations from NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) satellite, scientists developed a model of the behavior of carbon in the atmosphere from Sept. 1, 2014, to Aug. 31, 2015.

Scientists can use models like this one to better understand and predict where concentrations of carbon dioxide could be especially high or low, based on activity on the ground.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Kathryn Mersmann & Matthew Radcliff

Music: "Life Cycles" by Theo Golding [PRS]

Follow NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

[moonreft]

I can see it now "NASA confirms the earth is flat" reposted everywhere

[olivierhacking]

Do the extrusions represent solely forest biomass/ forest area?

[agent]

Carbon Cycle and Life

Carbon is a fundamental building block of life; life on Earth is comprised of carbon-based life forms.

It is hard to overstate the importance of carbon; its unique capacity for forming multiple bonds and chains at low energies makes life as we know it possible, and justifies an entire major branch of chemistry – organic chemistry – dedicated to its compounds. In fact, most of the compounds known to science are carbon compounds, often called organic compounds because it was in the context of biochemistry that they were first studied in depth.

What makes carbon so special is that every carbon atom is eager to bond with as many as four other atoms. This makes it possible for long chains and rings to be formed out of them, together with other atoms – almost always hydrogen, often oxygen, sometimes nitrogen, sulfur or halides. The study of these is the basis of organic chemistry; the compounds carbon forms with metals are generally considered inorganic. Chains and rings are fundamental to the way carbon-based life forms – that is, all known life-forms – build themselves.

[questforknowledge]

so in the summer for the land masses above the equator witch is where most of the land mass is. the plant life takes the co2 out of the atmosphere from what you just showed us. so if there was no winter/ice caps the plant life would be active year round and global warming stop increasing? witch is what your model shows it will hit a new balance as the earth warms up.

[larryparis]

Good work NASA. Transforming data into dynamic stocks and flows provides a visual understanding of a difficult issue. Really good work.

[shmookins]

What's the difference between the blue and the red? I don't understand the colors in the bottom right chart.

[wolfgangru]

why does it stop in august? Would be interesting what happens from august until december?

[bolt]

I find it strange how most of the gas stays on the northern hemisphere, its extremely mild in the southern hemisphere (where I live)

[johnvasquez]

Another computer model. I would like to see one using water vapors.

[titipsy]

Wow ! the impact is lower layers is much more apparent in 3D. Tks

[neeneharper]

I'm sorry but why it's all concentrated in the north? Is Greenland and Iceland in danger too?

[АлексейТурчин-уи]

Look at the scale at the bottom - the CO2 concetration fluctuates in a few percents - is it really matters?

[artoriasabysswalker]

i have question, how carbon dioxide affect rain? when or how the rain on earth will reduce?

[ilgainis]

How come Australia isn't producing much of CO2?

[BeeRich]

Would be nice if it wasn't spinning. All that money and this is what the public gets? There has to be a better version. Also some analysis as to specifically where it's being generated.

[GrazdaninPoyot]

20 km or 20000 km? The proportions are not met.

[marcelvaive]

Cette vidéo qui nous démontre l'évolution en 3D la pollution du dioxyde de carbone CO2 dans notre atmosphère est extraordinaire comme avancée de l'information des conséquences sur notre planète. Cette vidéo devrait être affichée sur tous les sites de météos par tout dans le monde, de façon que les gens peuvent suivre l'évolution du pollueur de dioxyde de carbone au jour le jours. Merci NASA de nous faire voir votre vidéo sur le pollueur planetaire du dioxyde de carbone CO2.

[kevmankom]

So what does it look like when it is more"healthy"?

[gregniemeyer]

What's up with the music? Let's have the music carry some information too!

[verano]

como cuando hasta la nasa reconoce la forma de la tierra