3 ms·

This is a good idea, but I'm a little surprised we can't already do this with in-situ assets.

SECProto 7y ago
The article shows a graphic of what existing monitoring satellites can do compared to what these satellites will do. For comparison, NASA launched the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 [1] in 2014, and it can monitor a swath 10km wide. This announcement is about Sentinel-7 [2], and it will monitor a swath 240km wide. This huge increase in monitoring will significantly improve what it can monitor (eg, montly/annual trends in CO2 production) edit: It will allow monitoring of all CO2 production sites every two or three days [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbiting_Carbon_Observatory_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbiting_Carbon_Observatory_2 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernicus_Programme#Sentinel_missions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernicus_Programme#Sentinel_...
- mturmon 7y ago
  Thanks. One very important feature that simple in situ monitors don’t provide is total column CO2. That’s the average concentration from the ground up to the top of atmosphere. The satellites, and advanced ground measurements, get total column CO2 by observing the behavior of slices of the solar spectrum that are affected by CO2. Basically, the gas absorbs some wavelengths and re-emits in others.
Animats 7y ago
Good CO2 detectors are not that common on the ground. You'd think they'd be built into all "smart" thermostats, smoke alarms, etc. But no. The part costs about $50.[1] Power consumption of the latest models is about 75mW, so you need a power source for long term use. Not going to get a year on an AA battery yet. I have a CO2 meter, and it's interesting to take it places. California coast at the ocean, about 380ppm. That's as low as it gets. My own house indoors, which is not very airtight, around 550ppm. Half-full restaurant, around 800ppm. Classrooms and meeting rooms reportedly can hit 1000-3000ppm. Historical CO2 prior to 1950, around 300 PPM. Today, around 400PPM.[2] One study showed that human decision degraded measurably, around 1000ppm. Human decision making degraded severely, around 2000 PPM.[3] But another study for the US Navy did not confirm this.[4] [1] https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/sensirion-ag/SCD30/1649-1098-ND/8445334 https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/sensirion-ag/SCD30... [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/05/14/it-was-degrees-near-arctic-ocean-this-weekend-carbon-dioxide-hit-its-highest-level-human-history/?utm_term=.4abe60f5b889 https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/05/14/it-was-deg... [3] https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2012/10/17/elevated-indoor-carbon-dioxide-impairs-decision-making-performance/ https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2012/10/17/elevated-indoor-carbon... [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29789085 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29789085

The article shows a graphic of what existing monitoring satellites can do compared to what these satellites will do. For comparison, NASA launched the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 [1] in 2014, and it can monitor a swath 10km wide. This announcement is about Sentinel-7 [2], and it will monitor a swath 240km wide. This huge increase in monitoring will significantly improve what it can monitor (eg, montly/annual trends in CO2 production) edit: It will allow monitoring of all CO2 production sites every two or three days [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbiting_Carbon_Observatory_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbiting_Carbon_Observatory_2 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernicus_Programme#Sentinel_missions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernicus_Programme#Sentinel_...

mturmon 7y ago
Thanks. One very important feature that simple in situ monitors don’t provide is total column CO2. That’s the average concentration from the ground up to the top of atmosphere. The satellites, and advanced ground measurements, get total column CO2 by observing the behavior of slices of the solar spectrum that are affected by CO2. Basically, the gas absorbs some wavelengths and re-emits in others.

Animats 7y ago

Good CO2 detectors are not that common on the ground. You'd think they'd be built into all "smart" thermostats, smoke alarms, etc. But no. The part costs about $50.[1] Power consumption of the latest models is about 75mW, so you need a power source for long term use. Not going to get a year on an AA battery yet. I have a CO2 meter, and it's interesting to take it places. California coast at the ocean, about 380ppm. That's as low as it gets. My own house indoors, which is not very airtight, around 550ppm. Half-full restaurant, around 800ppm. Classrooms and meeting rooms reportedly can hit 1000-3000ppm. Historical CO2 prior to 1950, around 300 PPM. Today, around 400PPM.[2] One study showed that human decision degraded measurably, around 1000ppm. Human decision making degraded severely, around 2000 PPM.[3] But another study for the US Navy did not confirm this.[4] [1] https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/sensirion-ag/SCD30/1649-1098-ND/8445334 https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/sensirion-ag/SCD30... [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/05/14/it-was-degrees-near-arctic-ocean-this-weekend-carbon-dioxide-hit-its-highest-level-human-history/?utm_term=.4abe60f5b889 https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/05/14/it-was-deg... [3] https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2012/10/17/elevated-indoor-carbon-dioxide-impairs-decision-making-performance/ https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2012/10/17/elevated-indoor-carbon... [4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29789085 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29789085