1077. The Movement of Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere

Using high-resolution data, NASA released a video visualizing the movement of atmospheric carbon dioxide gas concentrations driven by wind and atmospheric circulation during the period from January to March 2020.

This high-resolution video captures carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, forest fires, and urban areas, and shows how these emissions spread across continents and oceans.

In China, the United States, and South Asia, most carbon dioxide emissions originate from power plants, industrial equipment, vehicles, and similar sources. In contrast, emissions in Africa and South America are primarily due to land use changes, open burning, deforestation related to agriculture, and fires associated with the burning of oil and coal.

The footage also captures the pulsing of carbon dioxide emissions. This pulsing is influenced by two main factors: first, fires tend to peak during the day and subside at night, second, the absorption and emission of carbon dioxide through photosynthesis in trees and plants also contribute to this effect. The Earth's terrestrial and oceanic regions absorb 50% of carbon dioxide, with notable pulsing observed particularly in the forested areas of the mid-to-high latitudes. Additionally, a pulse is evident in the tropical regions of South America, coinciding with the summer season in the southern hemisphere during data acquisition period.

The high-resolution models, obtained by analyzing billions of satellite and terrestrial data with supercomputers, are expected to contribute to our understanding of the complex behavior of carbon dioxide in the Earth system through the movement of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Contributor: IIYAMA Miyuki, Information Program