National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Carbon Management

Carbon management is a key resource management and policy issue of the 21st century. The atmospheric concentration of CO₂ increased by about 25% during the 20th century and is continuing to increase in part due to the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land cover and land use. Increases in the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases are likely to produce significant changes in global climate and accompanying changes in the energy and water cycles. These changes will have profound impacts on the Earth's ecosystems and society.

Image: This Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) image shows chlorophyll concentrations in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Note the patch of high chlorophyll concentration (yellow and red pixels) toward bottom center of the image. This patch was created by the SERIES Project (Subarctic Ecosystem Response to Iron Enrichment Study). SERIES was funded jointly by Japan and the Canadian SOLAS (Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study). The project was designed to study the exchanges of gas between the ocean and atmosphere, and to assess the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere by the addition of iron to the ocean. More importantly, scientists also want to gauge the amount of carbon that eventually sinks into the deep ocean, thus making a small, but long-term contribution to reducing the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere.

New technologies for reduction of carbon emissions and storage of carbon deep underground or in the oceans are two principal options to achieve long-term reduction in the concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere. As these technologies are being developed and applied, a reduction in the rate of increase in atmospheric CO₂ may be possible by increasing storage of carbon in soils, above ground biomass and aquatic environments. Such carbon sinks already absorb about 50% of the carbon emitted into the atmosphere annually. Research indicates that changes in land management practices can enhance terrestrial and oceanic carbon sinks.

Image: NASA's Terra spacecraft has assembled the most complete view ever of the world's air pollution travelling through the atmosphere, across continents and oceans. For the first time, policymakers and scientists now have a way to identify the major sources of air pollution and to closely track where the pollution goes, anywhere on Earth. The false colors in these images represent levels of carbon monoxide in the lower atmosphere, ranging from about 390 parts per billion (dark brown pixels), to 220 parts per billion (red pixels), to 50 parts per billion (blue pixels).

In developing a science-based carbon management regime, knowledge of the carbon cycle is fully exploited to assist operational agencies fulfill their mandates to manage carbon and to support local, regional, national, and global policy and planning for control of carbon in the environment. The application element also collaborates with academic and government laboratories and operational agencies in the development, testing, and implementation of new technologies for measuring, monitoring, and validation of carbon management practices.

An example of NASA contributions to carbon sequestration is found in NASA support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the development of guidelines for a voluntary program for sequestration of carbon in biomass and soils. The program, created under Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT), "...affords an opportunity for any company, organization or individual to establish a public record of emissions, reductions, or sequestration achievements in a national database. Reporters can gain recognition for environmental stewardship, demonstrate support for voluntary approaches to achieving environmental policy goals, support information exchange, and inform the public debate over greenhouse gas emissions." Data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on the Terra and Aqua satellites are input into a model and an on-line procedure that will inform potential participants in the 1605(b) program of the carbon sequestration potential of their land and will allow managers of the 1605(b) program to monitor results.