Missing Carbon: Global Biosphere with Carbon Dioxide Growth Overlaid

  • Released Saturday, December 31, 2005
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This animation shows the global biosphere in the background and corresponding carbon dioxide graph in the foreground. The biosphere is represented as phytoplankton concentrations over the ocean and vegetation index over land. The carbon dioxide concentrations are from Mauna Loa, Hawaii measurements. As each year progresses, notice how the greening of the land moves south to north, then north to south. Also, notice how this corresponds to the carbon dioxide graph. As the northern hemisphere greens up, the carbon dioxide decreases due to the fact that the plants are absorbing more carbon dioxide. As the northern hemisphere gets less green, the carbon dioxide increases. These are annual oscillations in the carbon dioxide graph; however, the overall carbon dioxide trend from 1980 to 2005 is upward.

Carbon Dioxide graph from 1980 to 2005 over global biosphere data

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, The SeaWiFS Project and GeoEye, Scientific Visualization Studio. NOTE: All SeaWiFS images and data presented on this web site are for research and educational use only. All commercial use of SeaWiFS data must be coordinated with GeoEye (NOTE: In January 2013, DigitalGlobe and GeoEye combined to become DigitalGlobe).

This page was originally published on Saturday, December 31, 2005.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:55 PM EDT.

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Datasets used

  • [SeaStar: SeaWiFS]

    ID: 100
    Sensor: SeaWiFS Dates used: 1997 to 2005

    NOTE: All SeaWiFS images and data presented on this web site are for research and educational use only. All commercial use of SeaWiFS data must be coordinated with GeoEye

    Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, The SeaWiFS Project and GeoEye, Scientific Visualization Studio. NOTE: All SeaWiFS images and data presented on this web site are for research and educational use only. All commercial use of SeaWiFS data must be coordinated with GeoEye (NOTE: In January 2013, DigitalGlobe and GeoEye combined to become one DigitalGlobe.).

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