WUWT reader Anna V. alerts us to the preliminary report from the JAXA GOSAT Project. According to the project website:
The Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) Project is a joint effort promoted by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE).
NIES organized the research team dedicated to the GOSAT project within its organization in April 2004, and since then has been working for the research and development with respect to GOSAT “IBUKI”.
For a complete description of how GOSAT works, please read their summary here (PDF)
First let’s have a look at Global Methane (CH4):
Note that the areas with the most concentration of methane are in China, Middle East, Southern Europe, and Africa.
The real surprise comes from the GOSAT CO2 data analysis. This first global CO2 map released from GOSAT is shown below:
While this is just a short data set comprising a few days from April 20-28th 2009, it does show some surprising features for hotspots of CO2 in the atmosphere over many of the same areas methane had higher concentrations. One difference is that some spots in the Eastern USA, presumably the larger cities, show CO2 hotspots also. From looking at the large CO2 map, it appears Atlanta, Charlotte, and NYC are the three cities in the USA with higher CO2 concentrations.
However, China, India, Southern Europe, the Mideast and Africa have the majority of the CO2 hotspots.
Here’s what JAXA has to say about their CO2 analysis:
Carbon dioxide column averaged dry air mole fractions (XCO2) for clear-sky scenes analyzed using observations at shortwave infrared bands (radiance spectrum uncalibrated data) from the IBUKI greenhouse gas observation sensor (TANSO-FTS). Clear-sky scenes at individual TANSO-FTS observation points are determined using measurements from the cloud/aerosol sensor (TANSO-CAI). Data are excluded where the associated radiance spectra are saturated, and where noise is relatively large due to weak ground surface reflection.
In the initial analysis, the late April observation data shows a hemispheric gradient, with larger values over the Northern Hemisphere (Note 1), consistent with other measurements. Derived XCO2 values are generally lower than model predictions (Note 2). This is thought to be due to the analysis involving uncalibrated radiance spectrum data and due to the parameter adjustment for the analysis method not being finalized. High concentrations are observed over continental China and Central Africa, which may be caused by measurement interference due to the presence of atmospheric dust. Asian dust (yellow sands) were observed over continental China during the observation period, and the existence of dust storm-like and smoke-like phenomena were observed in the relevant locations in Africa. Future investigation is required to understand these errors. Data calibration, processing parameter adjustment, and product validation required for quantitative discussion of the analysis results, will be carried out in the future.
(Note 1) The analysis showed Northern Hemisphere results to be on average around 10 ppm higher than Southern Hemisphere results. An atmospheric transport model calculation predicts the difference between north and south at this time to be 2-4 ppm.
(Note 2) Southern Hemisphere values were on average approximately 17 ppm lower than the model calculation, while Northern Hemisphere latitude band average values were approximately 7-12 ppm lower.
It will be very interesting to see if the hotspot CO2 distribution holds with more data from GOSAT. If it does we’ll be asking the question of why the USA seems to have less CO2 concentrations than other parts of the world. I’m sure it will fuel some political and policy debate.
We’ll be watching for releases of more complete data with better coverage.
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I have examined the 15fps AIRS data animation of global CO2 at
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003500/a003562/carbonDioxideSequence2002_2008_at15fps.mp4
It is difficult to see the impact of humanity in this impressive display of nature’s power.
RE New York and other citieswith red dots: What is that red dot in the Canadian Arctic? I don’t recall any major centres of industry there. Same for all those red dots in Sub-Saharan Africa. Also in Central Asia, north of Bangladesh.
Also in the AIRS animation, where most CO2 is in the Arctic.
Here we go, again – forcing the data to match the models so it reflects what we want.
Why do the study in the first place, if it’s s just going to be disregarded?
It has no credibility. Very high Methane and CO2 areas should be Sarawak/Sabah/Brunei and especially Nigeria where huge amounts are emitted from flares and vents and gas and oil processing plants that use huge amounts of energy.
I’ve only looked at the maps so far and note almost NOTHING for Japan !!!!
The talk of all the “fiddling” and adjusting they need to do makes me a bit nervous…
So why are Canada and Siberia all white? Poor high latitude coverage?
OK, what about Brazil?
Oh, and as for why the USA is so low, look at all that corn, soybeans, trees, et. al. growing darned near everywhere between the cities. Then look at all the trees and lawns in the suburbs.
We are just sucking one heck of a lot of CO2 out of the air with plants.
I don’t understand the map. What do the enormous areas of white represent?
REPLY: no data
Does this mean that the data are to be adjusted to fit the model predictions?
respecting the principle of climate justice, this would require some sub-sahara and arab countries together with china to transfer their money to southern africa, south america and australia.
Does anyone see a difference between this map’s data and the 385+ppm CO2 level from the official Mauna Loa site? This map’s levels seem to be somewhat lower on average.
It will be interesting to see how the GCM folk choose to use/ignore this. For my mind I would have thought that the spatial distribution would be a major factor in the dose/response forcing calculations. A bigger computer is clearly on the shopping list.
Bugger me, the areas with plants are absorbing the CO2 and the deserts aren’t. So that photosynthesis stuff they taught us in primary school is right after all!!
Some of the Sub-Saharan “Hotspots” are possibly the Ruwanzori volcanoes and the Rift Valley vents, the rest probably show destruction of vegetation being used as fuel for cooking etc. They do coincide with high ovrpopulation areas.
This map is from measurements taken during nine days in April earlier this year. It is important to note the scale: the CO2 from these measurements is currently varying between 360 and 390 ppm.
The historical variation of CO2 is plotted here:
http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/co2/graphics/lawdome.gif
which indicates a historical baseline of between 270 and 290 ppm. Any consideration of climate justice would first have to take into account the approximately 100 ppm of increase in CO2 already observed.
What was that about CO2 being well mixed ?
Three observations:
The main bands are on each side of the equatorial regions.
The highest concentrations are mostly on the far side of the continents from the direction of wind flow.
There is little correlation with human activities.
This suggests to me that our input is of no significance as against natural sources.
A lot of parts with deserts have spots on the map. First thing that comes in my mind is that there are no trees to absorb the co2. Maybe the spots arent all hotspots and maybe the atmosphere mixes the gasses very well.
The Red Dot in the Canadian Arctic seems to be near the community Grise Fiord in Nunavut, Canada. However, it really looks like the source is to the south east on Devon Island, allegedly uninhabited! We’d of course need to confirm the precise GPS coordinates of the alleged CO2 footprint from the GOSAT raw map data.
Is there anyway to get the RAW DATA for GOSAT?
“Grise Fiord means “pig inlet” in Norwegian and was named by Otto Sverdrup from Norway during an expedition around 1900. He thought the walrus in the area sounded like pigs. Grise Fiord’s Inuktitut name is Aujuittuq which means “place that never thaws.”
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=ellesmere+island+city&sll=76.259564,-80.397949&sspn=1.472402,7.630005&ie=UTF8&ll=76.426871,-82.878113&spn=0.363556,1.907501&t=h&z=10&iwloc=A
Note there is an impressive ice break up going on in the overview google map image above. Actually the photo maps of the area are fantastic.
“Grise Fiord in Nunavut, Canada, Population ~145, Region Qikiqtani, Time Zone Eastern, Postal Code X0A 0J0, – The northernmost community of Canada, Grise Fiord is located in the High Arctic on Ellesmere Island. Picturesque and remote, it is surrounded by high hills and, for most of the year, sea ice. In fact, the Inuktitut name for Grise Fiord is Aujuittuq, “the place that never thaws out.” Visitors come to Grise Fiord to witness its spectacular beauty and wildlife. It is also a stopover for researchers traveling either to Ellesmere Island or to the famed “Ancient Forest” on Axel Heiberg Island. For more information about Grise Fiord’s history and setting, see Nunavut Handbook website at: http://www.arctictravel.com/chapters/grisepage.html Getting There: All travel to Grise Fiord is done via Resolute Bay. First Air operates flights to Resolute Bay from Iqaluit on Wednesday and Saturday; from there, Kenn Borek Air take travelers to Grise Fiord. Same day connections are possible on Wednesdays when traveling north, and Saturdays when traveling south. Please check with the airlines for schedule changes.”
Closer in view on the town.
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=ellesmere+island+city&sll=76.259564,-80.397949&sspn=1.472402,7.630005&ie=UTF8&ll=76.420081,-82.896051&spn=0.022733,0.119219&t=h&z=14
Wiki Page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grise_Fiord,_Nunavut
Grise Fiord,Nunavut – Qulliq Energy Corporation
http://www.nunavutpower.com/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=116&Itemid=0
“Qulliq Energy Corporation is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and advancing alternative energy projects that provide electricity at responsible prices. We are working to create long-term sustainable investments in the energy self-reliance of Nunavummiut.”
Devon Island does have “a meagre population of musk oxen and small birds and mammals”. I guess if this is the source those musk oxen sure are pumping out that C02 and Methane!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devon_Island
“Devon Island, the largest uninhabited island on Earth, is located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the second-largest of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canada’s sixth largest island, and the 27th largest island in the world. It comprises 55,247 km2 (21,331 sq mi) of Precambrian gneiss and Paleozoic siltstones and shales. The highest point is the Devon Ice Cap at 1,920 m (6,300 ft) which is part of the Arctic Cordillera. Devon Island contains several small mountain ranges, such as the Treuter Mountains, Haddington Range and the Cunningham Mountains.
Because of its relatively high elevation and its extreme northern latitude, it supports only a meagre population of musk oxen and small birds and mammals; the island does support hypolith communities. Animal life is concentrated in the Truelove Lowland area of the island, which has a favourable microclimate and supports relatively lush Arctic vegetation. Temperatures during the brief (40 to 55 days) growing season seldom exceed 10 °C (50 °F) , and in winter can plunge to as low as −50 °C (−58.0 °F). With a polar desert ecology, Devon Island receives very little precipitation.
Cape Liddon is an Important Bird Area (IBA) notable for its Black Guillemot and Northern Fulmar populations.[1] Cape Vera, another IBA site, is also noted for its Northern Fulmar population.[2]
Devon Island is also notable for the presence of the Haughton impact crater, created some 39 million years ago when a meteorite about 2 km (1.2 mi) in diameter crashed into what were then forests. The impact left a crater approximately 23 km (14 mi) in diameter, which was a lake for several million years.”
____________
The Blue Dot on the South West side of Hudson’s Bay is likely Churchill, Manitoba. The place where polar bears love to snack on humans and especially those tasty scientists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill,_Manitoba
“Devon Island is also notable for the presence of the Haughton impact crater, created some 39 million years ago when a meteorite about 2 km (1.2 mi) in diameter crashed into what were then forests. The impact left a crater approximately 23 km (14 mi) in diameter, which was a lake for several million years.”
Here is the impact crater. Impressive, most impressive. Let’s hope that meteorite strikes are like lightening and strike in the same places more often than not. Well one can wish at least but the reality of doom sinks in if we are hit by one of these puppies in the Oceans (the real name of our planet) or in a populated area.
http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=ellesmere+island+city&sll=76.259564,-80.397949&sspn=1.472402,7.630005&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=75.379939,-89.674187&spn=0.391004,1.907501&z=10
It is a crime against Life on Earth/Ocean if we can’t stop one of these meteorites when we have the technology to! We’ve been warned. Instead we have the likes of Al Gore stealing all the resources for tilting at windmills when a real serious danger lurks above all of our heads.
Maybe the Red Spot is Superman’s Crystal Fortress of Solitude or a secret military base?
Manfred (00:08:08)
“climate justice”
I appreciate your irony, so let’s have:
planetary orbit justice, spin-on-electron justice, amino acid justice.
One of our leading UK comedians (a leftie) reckons they just pick words at random to make up slogans (probably out of a box of approved PC words).
—
E.M.Smith (23:40:46) :
“Oh, and as for why the USA is so low, look at all that corn, soybeans, trees, et. al. growing darned near everywhere between the cities. Then look at all the trees and lawns in the suburbs.
We are just sucking one heck of a lot of CO2 out of the air with plants.”
I can’t find it at the moment, but I think it was the late Reid Bryson who pointed out that the CO2 in the first 10 feet above a corn crop is completely absorbed in <20 minutes. Good job we have winds.
—
What struck me about this study, without seeing the other comments, has been mentioned several times already: the promise to 'fix' the data. But also the rather small range of the variation. Whatever happened to all the sacred cow output from India? ("Sacred cow makes the best steaks." Mark Twain)
I notice that the ring of CO2 anomalies in the Sahara is echoed by similar CH4 spots. Also in Madagascar and Central Asia. It does seem they have dust issues.
Humans exhale CO2 so no surprise. Those are very population dense areas too.
no data is white. since its a satillite view I suspect that could me the white ares were cloud covered
tallbloke (23:42:02) :
I don’t understand the map. What do the enormous areas of white represent?
REPLY: no data
Thanks. So why is that? Will coverage increase as time goes on, or is the orbital path of the satellite limiting it’s coverage, or…
Southern Europe has a large amounts of spots?
Err, don’t you mean Southern America instead? Or Northern Africa? Because there’s almost no data for Southern Europe (it’s all white).
Devon Island has terrain very close to the Lunar Surface! Haughton-Mars Project. Cool. Heck I’m learning about the Arctic and the Moon and human space travel planning! Cool. Not to mention Polar Bear Guard Dogs! Wow! The tasty scientists are cautious about being eaten! Awe.
http://www.youtube.com/user/HMPResearchStation
I guess the Red Spot of C02 in Canada’s north is the special Hummer! Mystery Solved!!! [:)]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haughton-Mars_Project
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haughton_impact_crater
“At 75° north latitude, it is one of the highest-latitude impact craters known. The temperature is below the freezing point of water for much of the year, and the limited vegetation is slow-growing, leading to very little weathering. For this reason Haughton retains many geological features that lower-latitude craters lose to erosion.
Because Haughton’s geology and climatology are as close to Mars-like as can be had on Earth, Haughton and its environs have been dubbed by scientists working there as “Mars on Earth.” For example the center of the crater contains impact breccia (ejected rock which has fallen back into the impact zone and partially re-welded) that is permeated with permafrost, thus creating a close analog to what may be expected at crater sites on a cold, wet Mars. The Mars Institute and SETI operate the Haughton-Mars Project at this site, designed to test many of the challenges of life and work on Mars.”