Early next year NASA will be launching a satellite that will hunt out exactly where CO2 is being emitted and absorbed at the Earth's surface. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO), the first of its kind dedicated to tracking CO2 levels, should take our knowledge of the Earth's complex carbon cycle to a whole new level, mapping out in detail carbon sinks and sources close to the ground.
OCO is due to be launched on 23 February, heading up a 'train' of 7 satellites each containing different instruments that will together will provide an all-round analysis of the Earth's atmospheric and water cycles. Ok, admittedly it will take quite a lot of CO2 emitting fossil-fuel to get them all up there in the first place, but this sounds like it could really transform our understanding of our planet's complex systems, and it'll be interesting to see their results.
Source: BBC News
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