Our new video explains why monitoring CO2 with three instead of one satellites is important
With the Paris Agreement in place aiming at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions to keep global warming well below 2°C, it is essential to monitor the further evolution of atmospheric CO2 concentrations, the most important greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.
This is why the European Commission (EC) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are planning a future constellation of CO2 satellites called CO2M, which will be able to image the CO2 plumes downwind of emission hot-spots such as cities and power plants. In the ESA funded project Smartcarb, the C2SM partner institution Empa conducted high-resolution CO2 simulations with the regional transport model COSMO-GHG nested into simulations of the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service run by the European Centre for Medium Range Weatherforecasts (ECMWF). The main goal was to study the potential of CO2M to quantify the CO2 emissions of individual strong sources.
To demonstrate how CO2M can successfully monitor CO2 emissions, a scientific visualization video has been created in a collaboration between the scientific visualization service at C2SM, Empa and the company Visual Music and with financial support by ECMWF. The visualization explains the concept of the CO2M mission by illustrating its capabilities to observe CO2 globally and to quantify emissions from hot-spots. Two versions of the visualization are now publicly accessible at the external pageC2SM vimeo page, one narrated and the other using subtitles, that are available for inclusion in presentations by scientists and decision makers and for on-screen displays at conferences and meetings upon request.
Contact: external pageDominik Brunner, Empa