WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:00.020 --> 00:00:04.050 [Applause] 2 00:00:04.050 --> 00:00:08.060 The most visual 3 00:00:08.060 --> 00:00:12.110 manifestation of life on earth happens every year when springtime 4 00:00:12.110 --> 00:00:16.130 comes and fresh green leaves and grasses appear all around us. 5 00:00:16.130 --> 00:00:20.200 The biosphere, our living world is fueled by 6 00:00:20.200 --> 00:00:24.220 the seasonal pulse of energy that the change in season brings. 7 00:00:24.220 --> 00:00:28.240 In this visualization, we can see the seasonal changes 8 00:00:28.240 --> 00:00:32.330 to plants on land and in the oceans. Using data 9 00:00:32.330 --> 00:00:36.450 like these, we can estimate agricultural yield worldwide, 10 00:00:36.450 --> 00:00:40.490 predict famines, fires and algae blooms 11 00:00:40.490 --> 00:00:44.540 or help with land management. This global view of our biosphere 12 00:00:44.540 --> 00:00:48.560 is also crucial for studying the flow of carbon to the Earth system 13 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:52.590 and predicting the rate and effect of climate change on our home planet. 14 00:00:52.590 --> 00:00:56.640 In fact, the vegetation on land and in the 15 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:00.660 oceans are crucial component of the global carbon cycle 16 00:01:00.660 --> 00:01:04.680 and climate change science. Plants are the real lungs 17 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:08.730 of the Earth, absorbing the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere 18 00:01:08.730 --> 00:01:12.790 and producing the oxygen that we breathe. Here we see what's call net primary 19 00:01:12.790 --> 00:01:16.810 productivity; maps are aware and how much carbon 20 00:01:16.810 --> 00:01:20.850 is taken up or released by plants on a monthly basis. 21 00:01:20.850 --> 00:01:24.910 The colors are on these maps indicate how fast carbon 22 00:01:24.910 --> 00:01:28.930 was taken in for every square meter of land and you could see how 23 00:01:28.930 --> 00:01:32.980 24 00:01:32.980 --> 00:01:36.990 where majority of the land masses lie. Maps such as these, 25 00:01:36.990 --> 00:01:41.020 allow a scientist to routinely monitor plant's role in the global carbon 26 00:01:41.020 --> 00:01:45.050 cycle and monitor how they're affecting and affected by 27 00:01:45.050 --> 00:01:49.120 or changing climate. Carbon is 28 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:53.140 emitted into the atmosphere from natural sources such as forest 29 00:01:53.140 --> 00:01:57.180 clearing, decomposition, or volcanic activity. 30 00:01:57.180 --> 00:02:01.200 90% of the non-natural emissions result 31 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:05.230 from power production, cement production and transportation. 32 00:02:05.230 --> 00:02:09.320 Over time 50% 33 00:02:09.320 --> 00:02:13.430 of that carbon that's emitted stays in the atmosphere while 34 00:02:13.430 --> 00:02:17.470 25% gets taken up by trees and plants and the remaining 35 00:02:17.470 --> 00:02:21.550 25% is taken up by our oceans. 36 00:02:21.550 --> 00:02:25.570 And in fact, we can measure the contribution in vegetation growth and 37 00:02:25.570 --> 00:02:29.580 human's emissions on the carbon that is stored in the atmosphere using satellite data. 38 00:02:29.580 --> 00:02:33.590 So this visualization is a time series of the global 39 00:02:33.590 --> 00:02:37.630 distribution and variation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as observed by NASA 40 00:02:37.630 --> 00:02:41.680 satellite since the year 2000. For comparison we've overlaid 41 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:45.720 a graph of the seasonal and inter-annual annual changed increase of carbon 42 00:02:45.720 --> 00:02:49.770 dioxide that was measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. 43 00:02:49.770 --> 00:02:53.850 So these data sets show us that the amount of carbon dioxide stored in 44 00:02:53.850 --> 00:02:57.880 the atmosphere is steadily increasing as we continuously pump 45 00:02:57.880 --> 00:03:01.950 carbon into the atmosphere and decrease our forested and vegetated 46 00:03:01.950 --> 00:03:05.950 areas. And even though we still see that 47 00:03:05.950 --> 00:03:09.990 semi annual depth in concentrations with the growth of vegetation in the springtime, 48 00:03:09.990 --> 00:03:14.030 the increasing trend of carbon dioxide concentrations 49 00:03:14.030 --> 00:03:18.060 is leading to the warming and changing of our planet. 50 00:03:18.060 --> 00:03:22.110 The seasonal 51 00:03:22.110 --> 00:03:26.190 pulse of vegetation growth is crucial for the well-being and balance of life on Earth. 52 00:03:26.190 --> 00:03:30.200 This visualization of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere 53 00:03:30.200 --> 00:03:34.240 shows how every springtime when forests, grasslands and agricultural 54 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:38.300 lands Green up they suck up the carbon dioxide contained in the atmosphere 55 00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:42.320 through photosynthesis, but in the winter months that photosynthetic 56 00:03:42.320 --> 00:03:46.360 uptake is not there and the large amounts of carbon dioxide stay in 57 00:03:46.360 --> 00:03:50.370 the atmosphere and in fact data from satellite sensors have 58 00:03:50.370 --> 00:03:54.390 shown us that during the Northern Hemisphere's growing season, 59 00:03:54.390 --> 00:03:58.440 the Midwest region of the United States boasts more photosynthetic activity 60 00:03:58.440 --> 00:04:02.500 than anywhere else on Earth. But with 61 00:04:02.500 --> 00:04:06.530 changes in the distribution and type of land cover on earth, 62 00:04:06.530 --> 00:04:10.580 the natural cycle of growth and carbon dioxide uptake is being 63 00:04:10.580 --> 00:04:14.650 disturbed and more and more carbon dioxide is accumulating in the atmosphere. 64 00:04:14.650 --> 00:04:18.710 65 00:04:18.710 --> 00:04:22.730 Forest fires are one of the leading causes of vegetation change 66 00:04:22.730 --> 00:04:26.770 and land use change emissions globally, but the cause of fires 67 00:04:26.770 --> 00:04:30.800 can be both natural or human induced. In Africa 68 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:34.850 forest fires are used to clear land for agricultural activity 69 00:04:34.850 --> 00:04:38.870 and the amount and timing of fires is clearly linked to the seasonal changes 70 00:04:38.870 --> 00:04:42.900 from healthy green vegetation to dry grasses 71 00:04:42.900 --> 00:04:46.960 leading to these sweeping waves of fire that move from south to north 72 00:04:46.960 --> 00:04:50.970 and north to south each season. As these areas are getting 73 00:04:50.970 --> 00:04:55.000 hotter and drier with climate change, the intensity and amount of fire 74 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:59.040 increases leading to even more clearing. 75 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:03.090 But our satellite sensors don't just show us the health and changes 76 00:05:03.090 --> 00:05:07.120 in vegetation on large scales. We can also monitor the human impact 77 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:11.150 on our planet on the scale of the city or our neighborhood. 78 00:05:11.150 --> 00:05:15.190 So this image series shows of the massive growth spurt of 79 00:05:15.190 --> 00:05:19.200 Las Vegas since 1972. Those large red areas are 80 00:05:19.200 --> 00:05:23.220 actually green spaces such as city parks or golf 81 00:05:23.220 --> 00:05:27.260 courses but now take a look at Lake Mead 82 00:05:27.260 --> 00:05:31.330 we can see how with the influx of people into the area, the water 83 00:05:31.330 --> 00:05:35.360 table is steadily decreasing. 84 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:39.430 These images from Landsat really 85 00:05:39.430 --> 00:05:43.450 show us how we humans have changed our planet. 86 00:05:43.450 --> 00:05:47.500 Here we see the impact of mountaintop removal in West Virginia 87 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:51.560 from 1984 to the present. 88 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:55.600 89 00:05:55.600 --> 00:05:59.660 In Saudi Arabia 90 00:05:59.660 --> 00:06:03.670 we're able to see how irrigation technology has led to agriculture 91 00:06:03.670 --> 00:06:07.690 expansion in deserts but also to water table depletion 92 00:06:07.690 --> 00:06:11.730 n nearby reservoirs. 93 00:06:11.730 --> 00:06:15.770 All of these examples are 94 00:06:15.770 --> 00:06:19.790 showing how we humans are changing the look of the planet and consequently 95 00:06:19.790 --> 00:06:23.840 significantly affecting its vital signs. Our last example 96 00:06:23.840 --> 00:06:27.880 shows a recent map of a forest cover loss that is highlighted the extensive changes 97 00:06:27.880 --> 00:06:31.930 happening since just the year 2000. These images show 98 00:06:31.930 --> 00:06:36.040 forest clearing from wildfires in Colorado from 2000 99 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:40.100 to 2012 fueled by record temperatures and dry conditions. 100 00:06:40.100 --> 00:06:44.210 In general, wildfires in the Western United States 101 00:06:44.210 --> 00:06:48.220 are increasing in frequency and duration due to higher temperatures 102 00:06:48.220 --> 00:06:52.270 and longer growing seasons and this has resulted in 103 00:06:52.270 --> 00:06:56.290 twice as many acres burnt each year compared to just 40 years ago. 104 00:06:56.290 --> 00:07:00.320 These seasons are like the heartbeat of the planet, 105 00:07:00.320 --> 00:07:04.390 fueling the growth of vegetation worldwide 106 00:07:04.390 --> 00:07:08.420 and just as the seasons can affect the health of forested areas, 107 00:07:08.420 --> 00:07:12.470 they're also affecting the health of our ice caps and glaciers 108 00:07:12.470 --> 00:07:16.530 and on that note I would like to thank you for listening and introduce the next speaker, 109 00:07:16.530 --> 00:07:20.540 Dr. Thorsten Markus. [Applause] 110 00:07:20.540 --> 00:07:20.621 [Applause]