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| CO2 is tracked today - but not everywhere, in fine detail and at high frequency. (Photo by= NASA/JPL-Caltech) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] A constellation of satellites will be flown this decade to try to pinpoint significant releases of climate-changing gases, in particular carbon dioxide and methane. BBC reported that the initiative is led by an American non-profit organization called Carbon Mapper.
It will use technology developed by the US space agency over the past decade. The satellites - 20 or so - will be built and flown by San Francisco's Planet company. The project is being supported in large part by philanthropy - from the likes of the High Tide Foundation and Bloomberg. Planet operates today the largest fleet of Earth-observing spacecraft. There are already quite a few satellites in the sky that monitor greenhouse gases, but the capability is far from perfect.
The Carbon Mapper project wants to fix this either-or-situation by flying multiple high-resolution (30m) sensors that can deliver a daily view, or better. They will look for super-emitters - the actors responsible for large releases of greenhouse gases. These would include oil and gas infrastructure, or perhaps poorly managed landfills and large dairy factory facilities. The aim is to put the satellite data in the hands of everyone, and with the necessary tools also to be able to understand and use that information.
