Sure.
So, oceans.
We've been measuring different things in our oceans,
which is such a critical piece of our Earth system puzzle.
For a long time. We can look at temperature.
We can look at surface height, which affect sea level rise.
And so we've also been looking at the tiny microscopic organisms
in our ocean called phytoplankton.
And that's actually the first P in PACE.
Now phytoplankton have chlorophyl just like plants on Earth.
And so we can see green
in different ways that tell us about the location of these organisms.
So when you see a lot of them together, the ocean is actually not just blue
but green because of these critical organisms in our ocean.
Absolutely.
I'm so excited to unveil images that we've gotten from less
than three months on orbit, really transforming our understanding
of oceans already.
And so one of the exciting things about PACE is while we can look
at these organisms. We've been studying Chlorophyl for a long time,
but that looks at about like 4 to 6 different colors of green, if you will.
With the advanced instruments on PACE, we can look at over 200 different types.
And what that does is tell us important things about the types
of organisms in our ocean and where we might have,
for example, harmful algal blooms that could close beaches or areas
where fish are going to be really happy because you have a better food source.
So with that global picture and advanced instruments, we're really excited
about what we're going to be learning both now and looking into the future
as a response, as our our climate responds to changing patterns.
So aerosols,
which are you know, you can do smoke, it could be dust
are critical pieces of our climate puzzle for a number of different reasons.
One is that, for example, things like fires
and smoke, they can move a long distance.
And in Washington, D.C., we were severely impacted by, fires
from from Canada and affecting air quality in all along the eastern seaboard.
And so that's one aspect.
But the other thing about aerosols is there are really important piece
in weather formation.
So looking at where clouds and rain may form.
And so as we have an increased understanding of the distribution
and types of aerosols in our atmosphere, we will have another piece of our puzzle
to improve weather forecasting and look at how our climate may respond
in the future.
That's right.
Well, 2023 really was the warmest year on record,
and unfortunately we had other, peaks that year as well.
We had in July 2023 was the hottest month on record.
We also had the warmest summer and fall.
Now, these extremes are really important to understand
because we know that as our temperatures increase as a result of human emissions,
we are seeing more extremes like droughts or floods.
And so part of NASA's role is to piece together
how all of these systems interact into more of an interconnected system,
to better understand how we may respond to these events
in the future.
Well,
I have the great fortune of speaking with you today on Earth Day.
And what's really important to know is that we all have agency in this, right?
So we all can do our own part to understand and celebrate the earth,
talking to our our children and talking to community leaders and decision makers
about the importance of studying the earth and the all hands on deck effort.
We need to better understand what's happened in the past,
observe the present, and improve our forecasting of the future.
And so together, we can all move this forward to build more resilient
societies and mitigate impacts for future generations.
Well, oceans are a really important part of the climate puzzle.
First, they absorb 90% of the heat
that has been emitted as a result of carbon dioxide.
So looking at oceans as a huge part of that balancing is critical.
Also, the things that we talked about before,
those phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide, just like our plants do.
And so as we understand more about these different communities in our oceans,
we get a better understanding of both the sources of carbon dioxide,
but such as with aerosols as well as the sinks.
So together with the over two dozen
satellites and instruments that NASA have in concert
with our domestic and international partners,
we are working to better understand the big picture view of how our climate
has changed in the past, observe how it's changing now and then improve
our predictions of the future to build more resilient societies.
Well, Earth happens to be my favorite planet also.
It's where we all live.
And so it's a really critical piece of of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA.
And the other thing is, is that by looking at our Earth,
we are starting to understand more about exoplanets, the planets
beyond our solar system, places that may have life.
And so looking at the atmosphere of our planet, we then look to, to
with the James Webb Space Telescope, for example, to see where
other planets may have, habitable environments for the future.
So one of the unique things at NASA is we look across our portfolio
to understand our atmosphere, how the sun interacts
with with Earth and other planets all the way out to the cosmos.
Well, if this excites you as much as it excites me,
you can go to NASA.gov, slash Earth [nasa.gov/earth] or at NASA Earth [@NASAEarth]
to get information about what you just saw, as well as access
to the free and open data that NASA provides to look and study Earth.