Earth ID: 3309

Missing Carbon: Global Biosphere with Carbon Dioxide Growth Overlaid

Visualizations by Greg Shirah Released on December 31, 2005

This animation shows the global biosphere in the background and corresponding carbon dioxide graph in the foreground. The biosphere is represented as phytoplankton concentrations over the ocean and vegetation index over land. The carbon dioxide concentrations are from Mauna Loa, Hawaii measurements. As each year progresses, notice how the greening of the land moves south to north, then north to south. Also, notice how this corresponds to the carbon dioxide graph. As the northern hemisphere greens up, the carbon dioxide decreases due to the fact that the plants are absorbing more carbon dioxide. As the northern hemisphere gets less green, the carbon dioxide increases. These are annual oscillations in the carbon dioxide graph; however, the overall carbon dioxide trend from 1980 to 2005 is upward.

Visualization Credits

Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC): Lead Animator
Jim Collatz (NASA/GSFC): Scientist

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, The SeaWiFS Project and GeoEye, Scientific Visualization Studio. NOTE: All SeaWiFS images and data presented on this web site are for research and educational use only. All commercial use of SeaWiFS data must be coordinated with GeoEye (NOTE: In January 2013, DigitalGlobe and GeoEye combined to become DigitalGlobe).

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Data Used:

SeaStar/SeaWiFS

1997 to 2005

NOTE: All SeaWiFS images and data presented on this web site are for research and educational use only. All commercial use of SeaWiFS data must be coordinated with GeoEye

Credit:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, The SeaWiFS Project and GeoEye, Scientific Visualization Studio. NOTE: All SeaWiFS images and data presented on this web site are for research and educational use only. All commercial use of SeaWiFS data must be coordinated with GeoEye (NOTE: In January 2013, DigitalGlobe and GeoEye combined to become one DigitalGlobe.).

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This item is part of this series:
Missing Carbon

Goddard TV Tape:
G2007-001HD -- NASA's HD Climate Change Resource Tape

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Biosphere
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Atmosphere >> Atmospheric Chemistry/Carbon and Hydrocarbon Compounds >> Carbon Dioxide
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0