The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released a stunning video showing carbon dioxide (CO2) that has been released into the atmosphere over the course of a year.
Carbon dioxide is considered the most prevalent greenhouse gas and is the main driver of climate change.
Thanks to new computer modeling techniques developed at NASA's Office for Global Modeling and Assimilation, scientists have managed to break down our atmosphere and understand the main sources that contribute to this runaway insulator.
The visualization presented in the video shows how carbon dioxide is added to Earth's atmosphere throughout the year 2021, breaking it down into four main contributors.
Fossil fuels are represented in orange, biomass burning in red, terrestrial ecosystems in green, and the ocean in blue. In addition, the dots on the surface indicate how atmospheric carbon dioxide is reabsorbed by terrestrial ecosystems and oceans.
The visualization also highlights what is happening in North America and South America. Prominent features include a major pollution hotspot in the northeastern United States, as well as a rapid wobble over the Amazon rainforest, where plants absorb carbon during the day with sunlight and then release it at night.
These new modeling techniques allow a deeper understanding of the contribution of various sources to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is crucial to addressing climate change.
The information obtained through this study will help scientists develop more effective strategies to reduce emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change on our planet.
