The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting human activities, including energy consumption and CO2 emissions. During the Covid-19 epidemic, a team of NASA scientists first discovered regional changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) linked to emissions from human activity.
Reportedlythe scientists evaluated CO2 emissions from orbit during the epidemic using a mix of NASA satellites and atmospheric modeling, including data from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2). Previous research looked at the impact of lockdowns early in the pandemic and found that global CO2 levels have declined modestly in 2020.
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The team was able to determine which monthly changes were attributable to human activities and which were due to regional-scale natural causes by integrating OCO-2’s high-resolution data with modeling and data analysis tools from NASA’s Goddard Earth. Observing System (GEOS).
Human-made CO2 concentrations in the Northern Hemisphere fell from February to May 2020, according to the team’s data. It recovered over the summer, resulting in a 3% to 13% annual reduction in global emissions. Researchers investigating the regional impact of climate change and monitoring the results of mitigation initiatives would benefit from the findings, the team said.
No warming since 2016, according to NASA satellite data… despite ~300+ billion tons of emissions and ~17 ppm CO2. pic.twitter.com/ojTiIJkOgp
— Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) Apr 4, 2022
NASA scientists tracked near-term regional changes in emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide during the COVID-19 pandemic, narrowing down which monthly changes were caused by human activity and which were not. pic.twitter.com/CYMMwHgUik
— NASA Atmosphere (@NASAAtmosphere) March 31, 2022
Effects in atmospheric CO2 can be detected within a month or two of them occurring, providing quick, actionable information about how human and natural emissions are changing. When the Covid epidemic prompted people to stay at home, there were fewer vehicles and other means of transport on the road, resulting in significant reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants into the environment.
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But, as Lesley Ott, a research meteorologist at NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, noted, a “sharp decline” in CO2 needs to be seen in context.
Because this gas can remain in the atmosphere for up to a century after its release, short-term changes can be lost in the broader global carbon cycle, a series of absorption and release that includes both natural and human activities. The CO2 lockdowns of early 2020 represent only a small fraction of the total CO2 situation for the year.
The IOD had a strong positive phase in late 2019 and early 2020, resulting in a great harvest season in Sub-Saharan Africa and contributing to the record-breaking roasting season in Australia. Both events had a significant impact on the carbon cycle, making it more difficult to identify the signal of Covid lockdowns, the researchers say.
Cover Image: NASA