Using data on how carbon mixes with dry air collected from May 2017 to April 2018, researchers developed the first global carbon flux dataset and map. They published their results on July 22 in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.

 

The map was developed by applying TanSat's satellite observations to models of how greenhouse gasses are exchanged among Earth's atmosphere, land, water and living organisms. During this process, more than a hundred of gigatons of carbon are exchanged, but the increase in carbon emissions has resulted in net carbon added to the atmosphere — now at about six gigatons a year — which is a serious issue that contributes to climate change, according to YANG Dongxu, first author and a researcher in CAS Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP). 

 

"In this paper, we introduce the first implementation of TanSat carbon dioxide data on carbon flux estimations," YANG said. "We also demonstrate that China's first carbon-monitoring satellite can investigate the distribution of carbon flux across the globe." 

 

While satellite measurements are not as accurate as ground-based measurements, said co-author WANG Jing, also an IAP research, satellite measurements provide continuous global observation coverage that provides additional information not available from limited or varied surface monitoring stations. For example, a monitoring station in a city may report very different observations compared to a station in a remote village, especially if they are in drastically different climates. 

 

"The sparseness and spatial inhomogeneity of the existing ground-based network limits our ability to infer consistent global- and regional-scale carbon sources and sinks," said co-author Liang FENG, researcher with the National Centre for Earth Observation at the University of Edinburgh. "To improve observation coverage, tailor-made satellites, for example TanSat, have been developed to provide accurate atmospheric greenhouse gas measurements.”

 

The data from these satellites, which includes TanSat, Japan's GOSAT and the United States' OCO-2, and future missions, will be used to independently verify national emission inventories across the globe. According to the Yang, this process will be overseen by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and begin in 2023, in support of the Paris Agreement. TanSat's measurements generally match with data from the other satellites. 

The first global carbon flux map derived by TanSat observation. (Image by YANG Dongxu)

 

"This verification method will be helpful to better understand carbon emissions in real time, and to help ensure transparency across the inventories," said co-author LIU Yi Liu, a senior researcher in IAP. 

 

The process will be bolstered by the next generation of satellites, known as TanSat-2, which is currently in the design phase. The goal, YANG said, will be to obtain measurements that help elucidate the carbon budget from the global scale down to individual cities. 

 

Other contributors include YAO Lu, CAI Zhaonan, ZHU Sihong and LYU Daren, IAP CAS; and LU Naimeng, National Satellite Meteorological Center, China Meteorological Administration.

 

TanSat, funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the China Meteorological Administration, was launched in December 2016.

 

Citation: Yang, D. X., and Coauthors, 2021: The first global carbon dioxide flux map derived from TanSat measurements. Adv. Atmos. Sci., 38(9), 1433？1443, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-021-1179-7.