The trans-European project aims to better identify and understand carbon sources and sinks, building on previous data from Japanese and US-led endeavours.
Technology involved in the MicroCarb endeavour can measure concentrations of CO2 to one part permission, with a nominal pixel size of 4.5 x 9Km. Meanwhile, targeted zoom allows for ‘city-scanning’ at 2Km x 2Km, helping home in on emissions within urban regions.
This is the first European mission aimed at characterising greenhouse gas fluxes on the Earth’s surface, and should mean scientists will have a better understanding of how much carbon is being sequestered by oceans and forests.
This will build on previous projects conducted elsewhere, primarily at Japanese and US-based facilities. Orbiting at 650km above our planet, MicroCarb will measure the same geographical point at the same time for 21 days in a row to gauge fluctuations and changes in the atmospheric content.
Mission partners for the groundbreaking research include the National Physical Laboratory [NPL], UK Space Agency, National Centre for Earth Observation, University of Edinburgh, University of Leicester, RAL Space, GMV and Thales Alenia Space.
‘The launch of MicroCarb, as the first European sensor to map CO2 concentrations is a massive step forward for the UK and France to contribute to our understanding of the Earth’s response to continued greenhouse gas emissions,’ said Paul Green, Principal Scientist at NPL. ‘Its high accuracy data, contributing to a wider global GHG observing system, will show the efficacy of international policies towards new zero and help us make better decisions to reduce and combat the worst consequences of a changing climate.’
Image: ActionVance / Unsplash
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