PACE -- Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem

Over the past century, humans have accelerated the use of natural resources such as fossil fuels, old growth forests and groundwater. This has warmed the ocean and atmosphere, changed their chemistry and caused extra runoff from land. From analysis of data collected by satellites and sensors monitoring Earth for the past few decades, we know that these mul5ple stressors impact microscopic life in the ocean as well as airborne par5cles and clouds, but we do not know to what extent or whether changes will reach a 5pping point. The future Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will measure and help resolve the complex role of these interrelated Earth systems and their impact on fisheries, ocean chemistry and nutrients, climate feedbacks and human health.

Discover NASA's newest Earth science mission. It's called PACE. Designed to study the interactions connecting atmosphere, ocean, and the microscopic lifeforms that live in the ocean's upper reaches, PACE will transform how we think about our dynamic planet.