Short20232 min1080×1080

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Tagged by Source (SVS5110 - JanToDec2021 TaggedCO2 4-20-2023a co2 foursources sphere americas decal 2160p30)

NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - Andrew J Christensen, Mark SubbaRao, Brenda Lopez-Silva, Helen-Nicole Kostis, Lesley Ott, Ian Jones, Laurence Schuler

Space

At the Wikimedia Commons Use in the studio

About

This visualization shows the CO2 being added to Earth's atmosphere over the course of the year 2021, split into four major contributors: fossil fuels in orange, burning biomass in red, land ecosystems in green, and the ocean in blue. The dots on the surface also show how atmospheric carbon dioxide is also being absorbed by land ecosystems in green and the ocean in blue. Though the land and oceans are each carbon sinks in a global sense, individual locations can be sources at different times. For example, in this view highlighting North America and South America, during the growing season plants absorb CO2 through photosynthesis, but release much of this carbon through respiration during winter months. Some interesting features include fossil fuel emissions from the northeastern urban corridor that extends from Washington D.C. to Boston in the United States. The fast oscillation over the Amazon rainforest shows the impact of plants absorbing carbon while the sun is shining and then releasing it during nighttime hours.

Human-made No record of this work says a model made it. What this means.

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Wikimedia Commons, in Wikimedia Commons
Licence or status
Public domain, as the Wikimedia Commons states it.
Rights statement
Public domain
Credit
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - Andrew J Christensen, Mark SubbaRao, Brenda Lopez-Silva, Helen-Nicole Kostis, Lesley Ott, Ian Jones, Laurence Schuler
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