{ "count": 29, "next": null, "previous": null, "results": [ { "id": 5447, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5447/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2025-01-02T15:09:00-05:00", "title": "Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentrations", "description": "A plot of global atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from the Mauna Loa Observatory and Antarctic Ice Cores. The visualization starts by showing the Mauna Loa data which begins in 1958. There is a seasonal variation (maximum in May and minimum in September) and a steady year over year rise. The graph transforms from the monthly view to a line plot (The Keeling Curve). Finally the graph zooms out to show the full 800,000 year record from the Antarcic Ice Cores.", "hits": 882 }, { "id": 5389, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5389/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2024-11-14T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Tracking methane with EMIT and AVIRIS-3", "description": "Methane plumes can now be detected using the airborne AVIRIS-3 spectrometer in addition to EMIT on the International Space Station.", "hits": 178 }, { "id": 14696, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14696/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2024-10-08T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA + Smithsonian and Greenhouse Gases", "description": "Full 8K resolution. Optimized for Earth Information Center display at the National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian).Universal Production Music France: \"Human Endeavor\" by Oliver Grim, Koka Media; \"Accuracy\" by Laurent Levesque.Universal Production Music: \"Feelings of Pride\" by Kathryn Louise Maclennan, Label-Aurora Production Music.This video can be freely shared and downloaded. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, some individual imagery provided by Pond5, Shutterstock and Smithsonian is obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.htmlComplete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Scientific Visualization Studio YouTube channel. || Smithsonian_GHG.png (3825x1076) [2.8 MB] || Smithsonian_GHG_searchweb.png (320x180) [63.7 KB] || Smithsonian_GHG_thm.png (80x40) [6.2 KB] || GHG_Smithsonian.en_US.srt [5.8 KB] || GHG_Smithsonian.en_US.vtt [5.5 KB] || Smithsonian_GHG_v5_small.mp4 (7680x2160) [472.3 MB] || Smithsonian_GHG_v5_medium.mp4 (7680x2160) [859.9 MB] || Smithsonian_GHG_v5_h.264.mp4 (7680x2160) [4.5 GB] || ", "hits": 177 }, { "id": 14631, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14631/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2024-07-22T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "Model Behavior: Visualizing Global CO2", "description": "Universal Production Music: Prismatic by David Stephen Goldsmith [ PRS ]Complete transcript available. || 14631_DYAMONDThumbnailHorz.jpg (1280x720) [291.1 KB] || 14631_DYAMONDThumbnailHorz_print.jpg (1024x576) [222.2 KB] || 14631_DYAMONDThumbnailHorz_searchweb.png (320x180) [91.4 KB] || 14631_DYAMONDThumbnailHorz_thm.png (80x40) [7.1 KB] || 14631_dyamondhorz_US.en.en_US.srt [2.3 KB] || 14631_dyamondhorz_US.en.en_US.vtt [2.2 KB] || 14631_DYAMOND_Horz.webm (3840x2160) [32.4 MB] || 14631_DYAMOND_Horz.mp4 (3840x2160) [267.6 MB] || ", "hits": 308 }, { "id": 5332, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5332/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2024-07-18T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "NASA’s Greenhouse-Gas (GHG) Satellites", "description": "This visualization shows the orbits of the International Space Station (ISS) and Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellites. The ISS includes the EMIT and OCO-3 instruments. As the satellites orbit, their respective ground tracks are drawn on the Earth in white and orange to show how global coverage accumulates over time. || ghg_fleet.00915_print.jpg (1024x576) [84.4 KB] || ghg_fleet.00915_searchweb.png (320x180) [44.4 KB] || ghg_fleet.00915_thm.png (80x40) [3.1 KB] || ghg_fleet_1080p60.mp4 (1920x1080) [14.0 MB] || ghg_fleet [0 Item(s)] || ghg_fleet_2160p60.mp4 (3840x2160) [53.5 MB] || ghg_fleet_2160p60.mp4.hwshow [183 bytes] || ", "hits": 268 }, { "id": 5272, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5272/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2024-05-21T08:00:00-04:00", "title": "Methane plumes detected by EMIT Space Mission", "description": "The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission uses an imaging spectrometer to detect the unique pattern of reflected and absorbed light – called a spectral fingerprint – from various materials on Earth's surface and in its atmosphere. Perched on the International Space Station, EMIT was originally intended to map the prevalence of minerals in Earth's arid regions, such as the deserts of Africa and Australia. Scientists verified that EMIT could also detect the spectral fingerprints of methane and carbon dioxide which enables mapping of emissions from the energy, waste, and agriculture sectors. || ", "hits": 170 }, { "id": 14568, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14568/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2024-04-18T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Tracking the Greenhouse Gas Methane, Earth Information Center Videos", "description": "Full 8K resolution. Optimized for Earth Information Center display.Universal Production Music: \"Passing By\" by Miguel D'Oliveira, \"Simple Story\" by Fred Dubois, and \"Whispers of Hope\" by Sam Connelly, This video can be freely shared and downloaded. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, some individual imagery provided by Pond5 and The Raleigh Drone Company is obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html || GHGMain.png (7680x2160) [5.4 MB] || GHGMain_print.jpg (1024x288) [68.0 KB] || GHGMain_searchweb.png (320x180) [64.0 KB] || GHGMain_thm.png (80x40) [6.8 KB] || GHG.en_US.srt [4.0 KB] || GHG.en_US.vtt [3.8 KB] || GHG_Main_7680x2160.mp4 (7680x2160) [586.6 MB] || GHG_Main.mp4 (7680x2160) [1.1 GB] || GHG_Main_h.264.mov (7680x2160) [1.1 GB] || ", "hits": 111 }, { "id": 14502, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14502/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2024-01-12T08:00:00-05:00", "title": "2023 Was the Hottest Year on Record", "description": "Complete transcript available. 2023 was Earth’s warmest year since 1880, and the last 10 consecutive years have been the warmest 10 on record. But why does NASA, a space agency, look at Earth’s temperature? And how do we even measure global temperature? Universal Music Production: “Busy Life Instrumental” “Spiritual Engineering Instrumental” “Promenade Instrumental” “Trusty Scalpel Instrumental” “Box of Tricks Instrumental” “Breaking Instrumental” and “Fast Progress Instrumental.” || main_thumbnail_1.jpg (1920x1080) [951.2 KB] || main_thumbnail_1_print.jpg (1024x576) [418.8 KB] || main_thumbnail_1_searchweb.png (320x180) [82.9 KB] || main_thumbnail_1_web.png (320x180) [82.9 KB] || main_thumbnail_1_thm.png (80x40) [7.8 KB] || 2023_Temp_Update_Sidebar_FINAL_LOCKED.webm (1920x1080) [70.1 MB] || 2023_Temp_Update_Sidebar_FINAL_LOCKED.mp4 (1920x1080) [1.3 GB] || ", "hits": 175 }, { "id": 5194, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5194/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2023-11-29T11:15:00-05:00", "title": "OCO-2 and Keeling Curve: Trends in global atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) 1958-present", "description": "OCO-2 and Keeling Curve trends in global atmospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO₂). || OCO2_KeelingCurve_1920x1080p30.00370.png (1920x1080) [376.0 KB] || OCO2_KeelingCurve_1920x1080p30.00370_print.jpg (1024x576) [52.2 KB] || OCO2_KeelingCurve_1920x1080p30.00370_searchweb.png (320x180) [17.3 KB] || OCO2_KeelingCurve_1920x1080p30.00370_thm.png (80x40) [2.1 KB] || OCO2_KeelingCurve_1920x1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [5.5 MB] || OCO2_KeelingCurve_3840x2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [10.9 MB] || English (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || ", "hits": 69 }, { "id": 14386, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14386/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2023-07-19T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Take Flight with NASA's STAQS Campaign", "description": "Music credit: “Game Night Instrumental Wong” from Universal Production MusicStock footage: Pond5.comComplete transcript available. || STAQS_social_Thumbnail.jpg (1280x720) [482.2 KB] || STAQS_social_Thumbnail_print.jpg (1024x576) [372.7 KB] || STAQS_social_Thumbnail_web.png (320x180) [75.5 KB] || STAQS_social_Thumbnail_web-1.png (320x180) [75.5 KB] || STAQS_horizontal_final_revised.webm (1920x1080) [6.8 MB] || STAQS_horizontal_final_revised.mp4 (1920x1080) [116.9 MB] || ", "hits": 25 }, { "id": 5126, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5126/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2023-07-07T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "NOAA Annual Greenhouse Gas Index", "description": "This visualization of the NOAA Annual Greenhouse Gas Index shows the relative warming contribution from various greenhouse gasses (1979-2023). The donut chart shows 2023 AGGI data.", "hits": 189 }, { "id": 5118, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5118/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2023-06-20T22:00:00-04:00", "title": "Trends in atmospheric Methane (CH₄)", "description": "Global trends in atmospheric Methane (CH₄) for the period July 1983-December 2022. || CH4Trends_1920x1080p30.00900_print.jpg (1024x576) [64.5 KB] || CH4Trends_1920x1080p30.00900.png (1920x1080) [766.2 KB] || CH4Trends_1920x1080p30.00900_searchweb.png (320x180) [26.3 KB] || CH4Trends_1920x1080p30.00900_thm.png (80x40) [3.5 KB] || CH4_Trends_1920x1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [4.4 MB] || 1920x1080_16x9_30p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || CH4Trends_1920x1080p30.00900.exr (1920x1080) [1.7 MB] || ", "hits": 93 }, { "id": 5116, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5116/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2023-06-20T16:00:00-04:00", "title": "Global Atmospheric Methane (CH₄)", "description": "Volumetric visualization of the total Methane (CH₄) on a global scale added on Earth's atmosphere over the course of the year 2021. || TotalCH4_Comp_1920x19020p30_00080.png (1920x1920) [2.5 MB] || TotalCH4_Comp_1920x19020p30_00080_print.jpg (1024x1024) [114.9 KB] || VolumetricCH4_Composite (1920x1920) [0 Item(s)] || VolumetricCH4_Composite_1920x19020p30.mp4 (1920x1920) [353.5 MB] || ", "hits": 197 }, { "id": 14273, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14273/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2023-01-12T11:00:00-05:00", "title": "A Look Back: 2022's Temperature Record", "description": "Complete transcript available. 2022 effectively tied for Earth’s 5th warmest year since 1880, and the last 9 consecutive years have been the warmest 9 on record. NASA looks back at how heat was expressed in different ways around the world in 2022.Music credit: “Ad Infinitum,” “Arctic Blue,” and “Recovery” from Universal Production Music || Thambnail_final2.jpg (2085x1176) [2.2 MB] || 2022_Temp_Update_FINAL.00001_web.png (320x180) [2.8 KB] || 2022_Temp_Update_FINAL.00001_thm.png (80x40) [594 bytes] || New_Thumbnail_final2.jpg (320x180) [44.2 KB] || 2022_Temp_Update_FINAL.webm (1920x1080) [36.9 MB] || 2022_Temp_Update_FINAL.mp4 (1920x1080) [667.1 MB] || Transcript_otter_ai.en_US.srt [4.7 KB] || Transcript_otter_ai.en_US.vtt [4.7 KB] || ", "hits": 78 }, { "id": 5054, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5054/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2022-12-14T13:00:00-05:00", "title": "Methane Emissions from Wetlands", "description": "Methane is an important greenhouse gas that’s contributed to around one third of global warming. About a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands. Wetland habitats are filled with things like waterlogged soils and permafrost, which is what makes them sizable carbon sinks. But as a warming climate causes wetland soils to warm or flood, carbon is released into the atmosphere as methane. || wetlands.jpg (875x488) [108.8 KB] || MethaneWetalndsFinal.mp4 (1920x1080) [74.1 MB] || MethaneWetalndsFinal.webm (1920x1080) [14.8 MB] || Sound_otter_ai.en_US.srt [2.5 KB] || Sound_otter_ai.en_US.vtt [2.5 KB] || MethaneWetalndsFinal.mp4.hwshow [408 bytes] || ", "hits": 319 }, { "id": 14257, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14257/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2022-12-14T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Methane Emissions from Wetlands", "description": "Complete transcript available.Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming. Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands. Wetland habitats are filled with things like waterlogged soils and permafrost, which makes them sizable carbon sinks. However, as the climate changes, these carbon-rich soils are vulnerable to flooding and to rising temperatures, which can release more carbon to the atmosphere in the form of methane. Understanding methane emissions from natural sources like wetlands is critically important to scientists and policymakers who are working to ensure that changes in natural systems don’t counteract progress in combatting climate change made by reducing emissions from human activities.This animation shows estimates of wetland methane emissions produced by the Lund–Potsdam–Jena Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (LPJ-DGVM) Wald Schnee und Landscaft version (LPJ-wsl). LPJ-wsl is a prognostic model, meaning that it can be used to simulate future changes in wetland emissions and independently verified with remote sensing data products. The model includes a complex, topography dependent model of near surface hydrology, and a permafrost and dynamic snow model, allowing it to produce realistic distributions of inundated areas. Highlighted areas show concentrated methane sources from tropical and high latitude ecosystems. The LPJ-wsl model is regularly used in conjunction with NASA’s GEOS model to simulate the impact of wetlands and other methane sources on atmospheric methane concentrations, compare against satellite and airborne data, and to improve understanding and prediction of wetland emissions. Music credit: “Emerging Wave” from Universal Production Music || Screen_Shot_2022-12-09_at_1.10.12_PM_print.jpg (1024x571) [117.6 KB] || Screen_Shot_2022-12-09_at_1.10.12_PM.jpg (875x488) [108.8 KB] || Screen_Shot_2022-12-09_at_1.10.12_PM_searchweb.png (320x180) [57.3 KB] || Screen_Shot_2022-12-09_at_1.10.12_PM_web.png (320x178) [56.0 KB] || Screen_Shot_2022-12-09_at_1.10.12_PM_thm.png (80x40) [6.1 KB] || Methane.mp_Wetalnds_Final.mp4 (1920x1080) [74.1 MB] || Methane.mp_Wetalnds_Final.webm (1920x1080) [14.8 MB] || Sound_otter_ai.en_US.srt [2.5 KB] || Sound_otter_ai.en_US.vtt [2.5 KB] || ", "hits": 151 }, { "id": 5041, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5041/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2022-12-01T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Methane Emissions in the United States", "description": "2012 methane emissions across the United States. || ch4_epa_sq_2022-11-14_1335.00100_print.jpg (1024x1024) [191.2 KB] || ch4_epa_sq_2022-11-14_1335.00100_searchweb.png (180x320) [57.3 KB] || ch4_epa_sq_2022-11-14_1335.00100_thm.png (80x40) [4.5 KB] || ch4_epa_sq_2022-11-14_1335.mp4 (2160x2160) [23.8 MB] || ch4_epa_sq_2022-11-14_1335.webm (2160x2160) [5.0 MB] || ", "hits": 456 }, { "id": 5047, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5047/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2022-11-30T00:00:00-05:00", "title": "Net Ecosystem Exchange of Carbon Dioxide", "description": "The NASA Carbon Monotoring System's estimate of the Net Ecosystem Exchange of Carbon Dioxide from 2000 to 2018. || co2_nee_5.01750_print.jpg (1024x576) [124.3 KB] || co2_nee_5.01750_searchweb.png (320x180) [43.8 KB] || co2_nee_5.01750_thm.png (80x40) [4.5 KB] || 3840x2160_16x9_30p (3840x2160) [64.0 KB] || co2_nee_5.webm (3840x2160) [14.2 MB] || co2_nee_5.mp4 (3840x2160) [256.2 MB] || ", "hits": 292 }, { "id": 5007, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5007/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2022-08-11T00:00:00-04:00", "title": "Trends in Global Atmospheric Methane (CH₄)", "description": "Timeplot of global atmospheric methane (CH4) showing the full NOAA record (September 1983-March 2022). This version is created with a dark background. || MethaneTrends_Dark_3840x216030p.1512_print.jpg (1024x576) [44.0 KB] || MethaneTrends_Dark_3840x216030p.1512.png (3840x2160) [508.9 KB] || MethaneTrends_Dark_3840x216030p.1512_searchweb.png (180x320) [13.1 KB] || MethaneTrends_Dark_3840x216030p.1512_thm.png (80x40) [2.2 KB] || MethaneTrends_Dark_3840x216030p.1512_web.png (320x180) [13.1 KB] || MethaneTrends_Dark_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [3.7 MB] || MethaneTrends_Dark_1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [4.6 MB] || MethaneTrends_Dark (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || MethaneTrends_Dark_3840x216030p.mp4 (3840x2160) [16.4 MB] || MethaneTrends_Dark_3840x216030p.1512.exr (3840x2160) [886.5 KB] || ", "hits": 87 }, { "id": 4890, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4890/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2021-04-02T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "GeoCarb Observes Greenhouse Gasses from Geosynchronous Orbit", "description": "GeoCarb and OCO-2 measuring carbon dioxide from space || geocarb_HD_FINAL.4662_print.jpg (1024x576) [49.8 KB] || geocarb_HD_FINAL.4662_searchweb.png (320x180) [32.3 KB] || geocarb_HD_FINAL.4662_thm.png (80x40) [2.9 KB] || geocarb_HD_FINAL_1080p59.94.mp4 (1920x1080) [43.1 MB] || geocarb_HD_FINAL_1080p29.97.mp4 (1920x1080) [41.3 MB] || geocarb_HD_FINAL_1080p59.94.webm (1920x1080) [19.9 MB] || 1920x1080_16x9_60p (1920x1080) [1.0 MB] || 3840x2160_16x9_60p (3840x2160) [1.0 MB] || 5780x3240_16x9_30p (5760x3240) [1.0 MB] || geocarb_4k_FINAL_2160p59.94.mp4 (3840x2160) [135.4 MB] || ", "hits": 48 }, { "id": 20328, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20328/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2021-03-25T10:00:00-04:00", "title": "Radiative Forcing", "description": "A simplified animation of Earth's planetary energy balance: A planet’s energy budget is balanced between incoming (yellow) and outgoing radiation (red); On Earth, natural and human-caused processes affect the amount of energy received as well as emitted back to space; This study filters out variations in Earth’s energy budget due to feedback processes, revealing the energy changes caused by aerosols and greenhouse gas emissions. || ", "hits": 195 }, { "id": 13198, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13198/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2019-05-01T13:00:00-04:00", "title": "Human Influence on Global Droughts Goes Back 100 Years", "description": "Music: In Light of Things by Matthew Charles Gilbert DavidsonComplete transcript available. || Hydroclimate_Thumbnail.png (1920x1080) [3.1 MB] || Hydroclimate_Thumbnail_print.jpg (1024x576) [166.5 KB] || Hydroclimate_Thumbnail_searchweb.png (320x180) [114.8 KB] || Hydroclimate_Thumbnail_thm.png (80x40) [7.6 KB] || Hydroclimate_highres.mp4 (1920x1080) [330.6 MB] || Hydroclimate_V4.en_US.srt [1.8 KB] || Hydroclimate_V4.en_US.vtt [1.8 KB] || Hydroclimate.webm [0 bytes] || Hydroclimate.mov (1920x1080) [2.5 GB] || ", "hits": 112 }, { "id": 20282, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20282/", "result_type": "Animation", "release_date": "2018-07-30T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "Terraforming the Martian Atmosphere", "description": "One of the challenges of terraforming Mars is to increase its atmospheric pressure, which is currently less than 1% that of Earth. The Martian polar caps, minerals, and soil could all provide sources of carbon dioxide and water to thicken the atmosphere. Unfortunately, a new study by the MAVEN science team finds that processing all sources available on Mars would only increase the pressure to about 7% that of Earth, far short of what is needed.Learn more about this finding. || ", "hits": 472 }, { "id": 12350, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12350/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2016-08-29T11:00:00-04:00", "title": "ATom Mission interview clips", "description": "The ATom mission aboard NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory is sampling world-wide in one of the most extensive surveys of the atmosphere to date, measuring over 200 gases as well as airborne particles. The science team is particularly interested in methane, tropospheric ozone and black carbon particles, which have strong effects on climate and which all have both human and natural origins.Below are interviews with four scientists participating in the research flights:* Donald Blake, UC Irvine* Róisín Commane, Harvard University* Tom Ryerson, NOAA* Jack Dibbs, University of New HampshireFollow along with all eight of our #EarthExpeditions here: http://www.nasa.gov/earthexpeditions || ", "hits": 40 }, { "id": 11359, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11359/", "result_type": "Produced Video", "release_date": "2013-09-16T09:00:00-04:00", "title": "Planetary Scientist Profile: Emily Wilson", "description": "NASA scientist Emily Wilson discusses her work developing miniaturized instruments that measure greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Her latest instrument, the mini-LHR, works in tandem with AERONET, and will contribute to the global effort to better understand climate change. || ", "hits": 16 }, { "id": 3492, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3492/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2009-03-09T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "Atlantic Transport of Anthropogenic Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) in 2003", "description": "In a new NASA study, researchers taking advantage of improvements in satellite sensor capabilities offer the first measurement-based estimate of the amount of pollution. The new measurements from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite substantiate the results of previous model-based studies, and are the most extensive to date. Hongbin Yu, an associate research scientist of the University of Maryland Baltimore County working at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., grew up in China and taught there as a university professor, , where he witnessed first-hand and studied how pollution from nearby power plants affected the local environment. Yu points out, however, that the matter of pollution transport is a global one. \"Our study focused on East Asian pollution transport, but pollution also flows from Europe, North America, the broader Asian region and elsewhere, across bodies of water and land, to neighboring areas and beyond,\" he said. \"So we should not simply blame East Asia for this amount of pollution flowing into North America.\" In fact, a recent model study conducted by Mian Chin, co-author of this study and an atmospheric scientist at NASA Goddard suggests that European pollution also makes significant contribution to the pollution inflow to North America. \"Satellite instruments give us the ability to capture finer measurements, on a nearly daily basis across a broader geographic region and across a longer time frame so that the overall result is a better estimate than any other measurement method we've had in the past,\" said study co-author Lorraine Remer, a physical scientist and member of the MODIS science team at NASA Goddard. The MODIS instrument can distinguish between broad categories of particles in the air, and observes Earth's entire surface every one to two days, enabling it to monitor movement of the East Asian pollution aerosols as they rise into the lower troposphere, the area of the atmosphere where we live and breathe, and make their way across the Pacific and up into the middle and upper regions of the troposphere. Remer added that the research team also found that pollution movements fluctuate during the year, with the East Asian airstream carrying its largest \"load\" in spring and smallest in summer. The most extensive East Asian export of pollution across the Pacific took place in 2003, triggered by record-breaking wildfires across vast forests of East Asia and Russia. Notably, the pollution aerosols also travel across the ocean quickly, journeying into the atmosphere above North American in as little as one week. \"We cannot determine at what level of elevation in the atmosphere the pollution ends up once it crosses over to North America, so we do not have a way in this study to assess what actual impact it has on air quality here,\" said Remer. \"Nevertheless, we realize there is indeed impact. For example, particles like these have been linked to regional weather and climate effects. Since pollution transport is such a broad global issue, it is important moving forward to extend this kind of study to other regions, to see how much pollution is migrating from its source regions to others, when, and how fast,\" said Remer. || ", "hits": 63 }, { "id": 3491, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3491/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2008-03-13T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "Pacific Anthropogenic Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) in 2003", "description": "According to measurements taken with a satellite instrument, vast quantities of industrial aerosols and smoke from biomass burning in East Asia and Russia are traveling from one side of the globe to another. Explosive economic growth in Asia has profound implications for the atmosphere worldwide. Data collected by a NASA satellite shows a dense blanket of polluted air over the Northwestern Pacific. This brown cloud is a toxic mix of ash, acids, and airborne particles from car and factory emissions, as well as from low-tech polluters like coal-burning stoves and from forest fires. This image generated by data from NASA's instrument called MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) onboard the Terra satellite demonstrates how large and pervasive this transport phenomenon is across vast areas. China's exports fill shelves around the world, but according to a new NASA research paper, China also heavily exports pollution. This week, space agency scientists reveal how Chinese industrialization and Russian forest fires in combination with pollution transported eastward from Europe send roughly 18 teragrams - almost 40 billion pounds-of pollution aerosols into the atmosphere over the Northwestern Pacific every year. The MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite has been tracking the particulate pollution for more than seven years, gathering data as most of it drifted east across the Pacific Ocean. About 4.5 teragrams of particulate pollution each year could reach the western boundary of North America, which is about 15% of local emissions of particulate pollutants from the U.S. and Canada. In the last two decades, China has more than doubled its pollution production. This boom may be contributing to substantial changes in climate and weather in places far from the origin of the particulates. Never in human history-anywhere-has there been industrial growth like that in modern China. But with fast growth comes unintended consequences, and from space evidence of those consequences is starting to emerge. The research relies on measurements of something called \"aerosol optical thickness\". It's a quantitative measurement about how well a slice of atmosphere transmits light. The greater the value of optical thickness for a given location, the less light of a particular wavelength can pass through it. Measurements of aerosol optical thickness describe quantities of tiny particles in a given volume. By measuring how much light can penetrate a region of atmosphere across a variety of wavelengths, scientists can make certain inferences about the quantity and type of particles blocking that light. This visualization shows the seasonal variations of transport of pollution aerosols across the North Pacific. The East Asian airstream carries its largest pollution loading in spring and smallest in summer and fall. With heavy concentrations of aerosols represented by shades of brown, scientists can track the origins and distribution of the particles as they travel in the atmosphere. The sequence also shows a trail of substantial aerosol concentrations from a variety of sources. These sources include heavy industrial activity in East Asia associated with high population density represented in this sequence by gradations of black covering the land surface, and intense Russian forest fires in high latitudes. || ", "hits": 130 }, { "id": 3038, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3038/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2004-10-29T12:00:00-04:00", "title": "The 2004 Antarctic Ozone Hole", "description": "A relatively warm Antarctic winter in 2004 kept the thinning of the protective ozone layer over Antarctica, known as the ozone 'hole,' slightly smaller than in 2003. Each year the 'hole' expands over Antarctica, sometimes reaching populated areas of South America and exposing them to ultraviolet rays normally absorbed by ozone. Scientists have new tools to study this annual phenomenon, and the human-produced compounds that contribute to ozone breakdown are decreasing.On September 22, 2004, ozone thinning over Antarctica reached its maximum extent for the year at 24.2 million square kilometers (9.4 million square miles). The largest maximum area on record was 29.2 million square kilometers, in 2000. On October 5, 2004, the ozone layer reached a low value of 99 Dobson Units. || ", "hits": 24 }, { "id": 2900, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/2900/", "result_type": "Visualization", "release_date": "2004-02-12T12:00:00-05:00", "title": "Global Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide in 2000 (WMS)", "description": "This visualization shows global carbon monoxide concentrations at the 500 millibar altitude in the atmosphere from March 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000. Areas in red have 200 parts per billion of carbon monoxide or more at that altitude (around 5,500 meters), while areas in blue are 50 parts per billion or less. Carbon monoxide is an atmospheric pollutant and the highest concentrations come from grassland and forest fires in Africa and South America, although there is evidence that industrial sources may also be a factor. Atmospheric circulation rapidly moves the carbon monoxide to other parts of the world once it has reached this altitude. This data was measured by the MOPITT instrument on the Terra satellite. || ", "hits": 7 } ] }