Global Atmospheric Methane

Universal Production Music: Home To You by William Baxter Noon [PRS], Pluck Up Courage by John Griggs [PRS], Philip Michael Guyler [PRS], Wafer Thin by Adam Leslie Gock [APRA], Dinesh David Wicks [APRA], Mitchell Stewart [APRA], The Magpie's Pie by Quentin Bachelet [SACEM], Romain Sanson [SACEM], Ticking Tension by Quentin Bachelet [SACEM], Romain Sanson [SACEM], Reward Drawer by Ehren Ebbage [BMI] Additional images courtesy of Alaska Satellite Facility - University of Alaska FairbanksThis video can be freely shared and downloaded. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, some individual imagery provided by ASF is obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.htmlComplete transcript available. Intro sequence cut for social media. Universal Production Music: Home To You by William Baxter Noon [PRS] Complete transcript available. A segment highlighting how ABoVE utilizes NASA's UAVSAR for airborne observations. Universal Production Music: Pluck Up Courage by John Griggs [PRS], Philip Michael Guyler [PRS] Complete transcript available. A segement showcasing the Alaska Satellite Facility and how it relates to NASA Earth observations. Additional imagery provided by ASF. Universal Production Music: Wafer Thin by Adam Leslie Gock [APRA], Dinesh David Wicks [APRA], Mitchell Stewart [APRA]Complete transcript available. An interview with Dr. Katey Walter Anthony at Big Trail Lake, Alaska about thermokarst lakes, thawing permafrost and methane emissions. Universal Production Music: The Magpie's Pie by Quentin Bachelet [SACEM], Romain Sanson [SACEM] Complete transcript available. An overview of wildfire in Alaska. Includes an interview with Alison York, Alaska Fire Science Consortium and Dr. Liz Hoy, Senior Scientist for NASA's ABoVE mission. Universal Production Music: Ticking Tension by Quentin Bachelet [SACEM], Romain Sanson [SACEM] Complete transcript available. Since 2015, scientists with NASA’s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) project have been studying how climate change is affecting Arctic and boreal regions. The team is studying permafrost thaw, changes in plant cover, wildfires, shifting animal migration patterns and more. With research aircraft flying over Alaska and northwestern Canada and scientists conducting field experiments on the ground below, ABoVE is collecting data that will help researchers understand how these events are intertwined – and how they are impacted by climate change.Additional campaign footage can be found here. Related pages

Music: "Connections Established," "Data Visions," Universal Production MusicComplete transcript available. Continuing key observations of the Earth is really important to see how our atmosphere, land and oceans are changing over time. A long term record, combined with cutting edge observations from the new NASA Earth System Observatory, will continue to push boundaries to better understand our ever changing Earth. Related pages

Music: Organic Machine by Bernhard Hering [GEMA] and Matthias Kruger [GEMA]Complete transcript available. Universal Production Music: "A City Asleep Instrumental," "Inducing Waves Main Track," "Getting Bad Instrumental," "It's Decision Time Underscore," "In Doubt Instrumental." This video can be freely shared and downloaded. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, some individual imagery provided by pond5.com and Artbeats is obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on stock footage may be found here. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html.Complete transcript available. This data visualization of black carbon from the GEOS forward processinf (GEOS-FP) model shows the abundande and direction of black carbon from New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland blowing through the atmosphere from November 1-18. The summer of 2020 was marked by extremefires in Siberia and the Western United States. Series of extensive and powerful wildfires charred vast swaths of forest and shrubland and altered the composition of the atmosphere in the Northern Hemisphere. We study Earth and how it’s changing from the ground, the sky, and space. Using data from sensors all around the planet, we calculate the global average temperature, working with our partners at NOAA. Music: Organic Machine by Bernhard Hering [GEMA] and Matthias Kruger [GEMA]Complete transcript available. NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, based on data from the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies/Gavin Schmidt NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, based on data from the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies/Gavin Schmidt NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, based on data from the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies/Gavin Schmidt National Interagency Fire Center image of Loyalton Fire in August 2020 Globally, 2020 was the hottest year on record, effectively tying 2016, the previous record. Overall, Earth’s average temperature has risen more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1880s. Temperatures are increasing due to human activities, specifically emissions of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide and methane. Related pages

Complete transcript available.Music: "Reported Missing" by Andrew Michael Britton [PRS] and David Stephen Goldsmith [PRS]This video can be freely shared and downloaded. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, some individual imagery provided by Artbeats is obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. Specific details on stock footage may be found here. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html. NASA’s new 3-dimensional portrait of methane shows the world’s second largest contributor to greenhouse warming as it travels through the atmosphere. Combining multiple data sets from emissions inventories and simulations of wetlands into a high-resolution computer model, researchers now have an additional tool for understanding this complex gas and its role in Earth’s carbon cycle, atmospheric composition, and climate system. The new data visualization builds a fuller picture of the diversity of methane sources on the ground as well as the behavior of the gas as it moves through the atmosphere. Related pages

This 3D volumetric visualization shows the emission and transport of atmospheric methane over Canada and Alaska in September 2018 with the date and colorbar. This 3D volumetric visualization shows the emission and transport of atmospheric methane over Canada and Alaska in September 2018 without the date and colorbar. The date and colorbar with transparency Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that traps heat 28 times more effectively than carbon dioxide over a 100-year timescale. Concentrations of methane have increased by more than 150% since industrial activities and intensive agriculture began. After carbon dioxide, methane is responsible for about 23% of climate change in the twentieth century. Methane is produced under conditions where little to no oxygen is available. About 30% of methane emissions are produced by wetlands, including ponds, lakes and rivers. Another 20% is produced by agriculture, due to a combination of livestock, waste management and rice cultivation. Activities related to oil, gas, and coal extraction release an additional 30%. The remainder of methane emissions come from minor sources such as wildfire, biomass burning, permafrost, termites, dams, and the ocean. Scientists around the world are working to better understand the budget of methane with the ultimate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving prediction of environmental change. For additional information, see the Global Methane Budget.The NASA SVS visualization presented here shows the complex patterns of methane emissions produced over Canada and Alaska during the summer of 2018. The visualization was created using output from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, GMAO, GEOS modeling system, developed and maintained by scientists at NASA. Wetland emissions were estimated by the LPJ-wsl model, which simulates the temperature and moisture dependent methane emission processes using a variety of satellite data to determine what parts of the globe are covered by wetlands. Other methane emission sources come from inventories of human activity. The height of Earth’s atmosphere and topography have been vertically exaggerated and appear approximately 50-times higher than normal in order to show the complexity of the atmospheric flow.Emissions reflect a mix of agricultural and industrial activities. Emissions are transported through the atmosphere as weather systems move and mix methane around the globe. In the atmosphere, methane is eventually removed by reactive gases that convert it to carbon dioxide. Understanding the three-dimensional distribution of methane is important for NASA scientists planning observations that sample the atmosphere. Aircraft, like those launched during NASA’s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABOVE) sample the atmosphere along very specific flight lines, providing additional details about the processes controlling methane emissions at high latitudes. Atmospheric models help place these measurements in context so that scientists can refine estimates of sources and sinks, understand the processes controlling them and reduce uncertainty in future projections of carbon-climate feedbacks. Related pages

This 3D volumetric visualization shows the emission and transport of atmospheric methane around the globe between December 9, 2017 and December 1, 2018.Music: "Motion Blur" by Sam Dobson [PRS]Complete transcript available.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. The same 3D volumetric visualization of the emission and transport of atmospheric methane around the globe between December 9, 2017 and December 1, 2018 with only music. This version has no narration.Music: "Motion Blur" by Sam Dobson [PRS]Coming soon to our YouTube channel. This layer of the visualization includes the Earth with the global atmospheric methane emission and transport. The overlay with the date and colorbar is not included. This layer includes only the date and colorbar with transparency. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that traps heat 28 times more effectively than carbon dioxide over a 100-year timescale. Concentrations of methane have increased by more than 150% since industrial activities and intensive agriculture began. After carbon dioxide, methane is responsible for about 23% of climate change in the twentieth century. Methane is produced under conditions where little to no oxygen is available. About 30% of methane emissions are produced by wetlands, including ponds, lakes and rivers. Another 20% is produced by agriculture, due to a combination of livestock, waste management and rice cultivation. Activities related to oil, gas, and coal extraction release an additional 30%. The remainder of methane emissions come from minor sources such as wildfire, biomass burning, permafrost, termites, dams, and the ocean. Scientists around the world are working to better understand the budget of methane with the ultimate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving prediction of environmental change. For additional information, see the Global Methane Budget.The NASA SVS visualization presented here shows the complex patterns of methane emissions produced around the globe and throughout the year from the different sources described above. The visualization was created using output from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, GMAO, GEOS modeling system, developed and maintained by scientists at NASA. Wetland emissions were estimated by the LPJ-wsl model, which simulates the temperature and moisture dependent methane emission processes using a variety of satellite data to determine what parts of the globe are covered by wetlands. Other methane emission sources come from inventories of human activity. The height of Earth’s atmosphere and topography have been vertically exaggerated and appear approximately 50-times higher than normal in order to show the complexity of the atmospheric flow. As the visualization progresses, outflow from different source regions is highlighted. For example, high methane concentrations over South America are driven by wetland emissions while over Asia, emissions reflect a mix of agricultural and industrial activities. Emissions are transported through the atmosphere as weather systems move and mix methane around the globe. In the atmosphere, methane is eventually removed by reactive gases that convert it to carbon dioxide. Understanding the three-dimensional distribution of methane is important for NASA scientists planning observations that sample the atmosphere in very different ways. Satellites like GeoCarb, a planned geostationary mission to observe both carbon dioxide and methane, look down from space and will estimate the total number of methane molecules in a column of air. Aircraft, like those launched during NASA’s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABOVE) sample the atmosphere along very specific flight lines, providing additional details about the processes controlling methane emissions at high latitudes. Atmospheric models help place these different types of measurements in context so that scientists can refine estimates of sources and sinks, understand the processes controlling them and reduce uncertainty in future projections of carbon-climate feedbacks. Related pages

This 3D volumetric visualization shows a global view of the methane emission and transport between December 1, 2017 and November 30, 2018. This visualizaion of the rotating global view is designed to be played in a continuous loop.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. The global methane visualization alone in OpenExr format.(Note: This frame set was converted to the sRGB color space on 6/16/2020) A high resolution still of the global methane on January 26, 2018 with transparency. The colorbar with transparency The date sequence alone in OpenExr format.(Note: This frame set was converted to the sRGB color space on 6/16/2020) The background sequence alone in OpenExr format.(Note: This frame set was converted to the sRGB color space on 6/16/2020) The overlay with the colorbar and the exaggeration. THis version shows the volumetric global methane emission and transport between Dec 1 and Nov 30. It is designed to show methane emissions greater than 1800 parts per billion. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that traps heat 28 times more effectively than carbon dioxide over a 100-year timescale. Concentrations of methane have increased by more than 150% since industrial activities and intensive agriculture began. After carbon dioxide, methane is responsible for about 20% of climate change in the twentieth century. Methane is produced under conditions where little to no oxygen is available. About 30% of methane emissions are produced by wetlands, including ponds, lakes and rivers. Another 20% is produced by agriculture, due to a combination of livestock, waste management and rice cultivation. Activities related to oil, gas, and coal extraction release an additional 30%. The remainder of methane emissions come from minor sources such as wildfire, biomass burning, permafrost, termites, dams, and the ocean. Scientists around the world are working to better understand the budget of methane with the ultimate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving prediction of environmental change. For additional information, see the Global Methane Budget.The NASA SVS visualization presented here shows the complex patterns of methane emissions produced around the globe and throughout the year from the different sources described above. The visualization was created using output from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, GMAO, GEOS modeling system, developed and maintained by scientists at NASA. Wetland emissions were estimated by the LPJ-wsl dynamic global vegetation model, which simulates the temperature and moisture dependent methane emission processes using a variety of satellite data to determine what parts of the globe are covered by wetlands. Other methane emission sources come from inventories of human activity. The height of Earth’s atmosphere and topography have been vertically exaggerated and appear approximately 50-times higher than normal in order to show the complexity of the atmospheric flow while the bathymetry below sea level is exaggerated by 11.6-times. Outflow from different regions result from different sources. For example, high methane concentrations over South America are driven by wetland emissions while over Asia, emissions reflect a mix of agricultural and industrial activities. Emissions are transported through the atmosphere as weather systems move and mix methane around the globe. In the atmosphere, methane is eventually removed by reactive gases that convert it to carbon dioxide. Understanding the three-dimensional distribution of methane is important for NASA scientists planning observations that sample the atmosphere in very different ways. Satellites like GeoCarb, a planned geostationary mission to observe both carbon dioxide and methane, look down from space and will estimate the total number of methane molecules in a column of air. Aircraft, like those launched during NASA’s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABOVE) sample the atmosphere along very specific flight lines, providing additional details about the processes controlling methane emissions at high latitudes. Atmospheric models help place these different types of measurements in context so that scientists can refine estimates of sources and sinks, understand the processes controlling them and reduce uncertainty in future projections of carbon-climate feedbacks. Related pages