Due to the model's high resolution, it's possible to zoom in and observe carbon dioxide emissions originating from power plants, fires, and cities, then dispersing across continents and oceans.

"As policymakers and as scientists, we're trying to account for where carbon comes from and how that impacts the planet," said climate scientist Lesley Ott at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "You see here how everything is interconnected by these different weather patterns."

Sources of CO2
In regions like China, the United States, and South Asia, most emissions are produced by power plants, industrial facilities, and vehicles, Ott noted. In contrast, Africa and South America see emissions primarily from fires, especially those linked to land management, controlled agricultural burns, deforestation, and the burning of oil and coal. Fires release carbon dioxide as they burn.

Understanding the Pulsing Effect
The map's pulsing effect is driven by two main factors: First, fires follow a clear day-night cycle, flaring up during the day and dying down at night. Second, the absorption and release of carbon dioxide by trees and plants during photosynthesis contribute to this effect. Earth's land and oceans absorb about 50% of carbon dioxide, acting as natural carbon sinks. Plants absorb carbon dioxide during the day and release it at night. Noticeable pulsing occurs in tree-rich regions, such as mid- or high-latitude forests. The data, collected during the Southern Hemisphere summer, shows more pulsing in the tropics and South America, reflecting the active growing season.

Additionally, the pulsing is influenced by the planetary boundary layer - the lowest 3,000 feet (900 meters) of the atmosphere - which rises as the Earth's surface is warmed by sunlight during the day and falls as it cools at night.

Data Behind the Map
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio created the map using a model called GEOS, the Goddard Earth Observing System. GEOS, a high-resolution weather model powered by supercomputers, simulates atmospheric conditions, including storm systems and cloud formations. It incorporates billions of data points from ground observations and satellite instruments, such as Terra satellite's MODIS and Suomi-NPP satellite's VIIRS instruments. GEOS has a resolution over 100 times greater than a typical weather model.

Climate scientists, including Ott, wanted to explore what GEOS would reveal about the movement and density of carbon dioxide in the global atmosphere.

"We had this opportunity to say: can we tag along and see what really high-resolution CO2 looks like?" Ott said. "We had a feeling we were going to see plume structures and things that we've never been able to see when we do these coarser resolution simulations."

Her instinct proved correct. "Just seeing how persistent the plumes were and the interaction of the plumes with weather systems, it was tremendous."

The Significance
Addressing climate change requires recognizing the substantial carbon dioxide emissions contributing to atmospheric warming, Ott emphasized.

Carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping greenhouse gas, is the main driver of Earth's rising temperatures. As CO2 accumulates in the atmosphere, it heats the planet. This is evident in the data: 2023 was the hottest year on record, according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. Most of the 10 hottest years on record have occurred in the past decade.

While some carbon dioxide is essential for maintaining a habitable planet, excessive emissions cause rapid and excessive warming. This trend has persisted for at least the past 50 years. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have increased from approximately 278 parts per million in 1750, the start of the industrial era, to 427 parts per million in May 2024.

For a detailed, interactive view of carbon dioxide movement, refer to the original report here.

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