from the Calgary Herald: Canadian mini-satellite may solve carbon puzzle (h/t to WUWT reader “Freezedried”)
Tom Spears Canwestnews Service
Friday, February 27, 2009
While NASA lost a $285-million US satellite this week, a Canadian microsatellite that does the same job is chugging along happily in orbit –at 1/1,000th the cost.
The 30-centimetre-long University of Toronto satellite is searching for the “missing” carbon dioxide–the vast amount of Earth’s main greenhouse gas that somehow vanishes each year.
That’s what NASA’s OCO(orbiting carbon observatory) satellite would have done, if it had survived launch on Tuesday. The big difference: Canada built and launched its tiny version for $300,000.
The OCO launched but failed to reach orbit. (see WUWT story here)
Details on the hardware are here
Meanwhile, the U of T’s CanX-2 is cruising 700 kilometres above Earth “and functioning really well,” after some glitches that followed its launch last April, said Ben Quine, the director of space engineering at York University–which made an instrument aboard the tiny CanX. Its job, like OCO’s, is to find Earth’s missing greenhouse gas.
“The measurement principle is almost exactly the same as the one for the OCO,”he said. “It’s very sad when you lose a spacecraft, but it also means that we are the only people in orbit with one-kilometre resolution on the ground.”
That means York’s Argus instrument can look at details below. A Japanese satellite does the same job, but can’t look at features less than 10 kilometres wide.
The problem is that where carbon dioxide comes from, and where it is sucked out of the atmosphere, remains poorly understood.
“Clearly, if we’re going to do something about climate change, we need to understand where CO2 is produced and particularly where it’s absorbed.That’s much less clear,” Quine said.
“Click here for a Canuck Anti-missile system”
sigh….try this one…..
“Click here for a Canuck Anti-missile system”
JohnH (09:38:26) :
How was the Candian satellite launched?
Wait! The satellite was launched in April 2008… Al Gore visited Montreal also in April 2008. Certainly, they must have done a gravity-assist launch around Gore’s huge ego, and maybe also with the help of Jack Layton’s and Elizabeth May’s egos too.
And for those wondering about how we canucks shrank the satellite to such a small size?
Apparently the cold causes shrinkage in electronics, too….
How was it launched you ask. We have Gerald Bulls supergun hidden behind the barn.
http://www.tonyrogers.com/weapons/supergun_pc2.htm
Ray (09:54:52) :
I am afraid through that they will use the data to force the tax on big emitters and to penalize those countries that emit more and not really for scientific goals.
If it’s found that CO2 is leaking out of the atmosphere into space, I’m afraid they’ll up the ante & say we’re not just destroying the planet, we’re destroying the universe.
You might laugh, but….
Most of the CO2 emissions we put out (excluding aircraft, of course) don’t rise above a thousand feet. After all, CO2 is almost twice as heavy as air. It is warm/hot when we emit it so it rises. It then cools as it rises and gravity brings it back. The only way for it to be absorbed by the oceans is if it sits at the surface with some downward pressure on it – ie gravity. OK turbulence will keep some aloft, but gravity is a constant while turbulence isn’t. The laugh to me was that, as the NASA rocket was waiting for launch, probably 70% of Man’s CO2 emissions were below it’s nose!!
Jon H
Thanks
“Neil Crafter (10:53:23) :
JohnH (09:38:26) :
“How was the Candian satellite launched?”
Slingshot……..”
You mean SLAPshot… ;*)
“Gary (11:20:35) :
From the hardware web link above:
The Atmospheric Spectrometer, developed by Dr. Brendan Quine of York University, is an Earth imaging spectrometer. It provides measurements of airborne greenhouse gases to support the goals of the Kyoto protocol. The payload operates in the near infrared band using Earthshine spectra. It features a surface resolution of 1 km, which will enable the identification of local variation and sources of pollution emission. The data collected will be used initially to detect major sources and local variation of pollution, and subsequently to create better computer models of pollution distribution.
The agenda is biased. Let’s see if all the data become accessible for everybody to examine.”
I agree. I see lots of words about detecting the PRODUCTION of C02, but nothing about the sinks. Seems to me this is first and foremost a taxation tool?
It’s sounds like the C02 equivalent of the cameras at major intersections that allows the police to mail a ticket to you.
JimB
I think the agenda is clearly said in this statement ” “Clearly, if we’re going to do something about climate change, we need to understand where CO2 is produced and particularly where it’s absorbed.That’s much less clear,” Quine said.”
Will they look only at Anthropogenic production or also at the natural emitters like some C4 plants at night?
Ray (09:20:39) :
They should have inserted one in Gore’s colon to find missing carbon. A resolution of 1 km should be enough in his case.
Or into his head. No chance of it colliding with anything else in there….
JohnH (09:38:26) :
How was the Candian satellite launched?
http://www-uxsup.csx.cam.ac.uk/~fanf2/hermes/doc/talks/2007-02-techlinks/trebuchet.jpg
bbeeman (10:11:39) :
The carbon dioxide is not necessarily escaping into outer space. We need to look at the obvious sinks, which are the cooling oceans and CO2 eating plant life on the earth’s surface. Isn’t that what the NASA satellite was all about?
A Researcher at my home university of Leeds UK just had this published in Nature.
http://blogs.nature.com/climatefeedback/2009/02/jungle_fit.html
The trees have been getting fat on the excess co2. 🙂
Simon (11:01:13) :
Did I detect a certain smugness in this report?
Do I detect a certain amount of pique in this comment? 😉
The “missing” CO2 is not missing from nature. It’s there.
It is called “missing” because the models cannot explain where 50% of human emissions of CO2 go.
A model that misses the allegedly key variable by that much? Did the dog eat their homework, or what?
Do they need a satellite to see Henry’s Law?
The Atmospheric Spectrometer, developed by Dr. Brendan Quine of York University…
Stone me! The guy looks about 16!
http://1.2.3.12/bmi/www.thoth.ca/images/Brendan_Quine_2003.jpg
This has a good chance of dispelling the myth that CO2 remains in the atmosphere for 100+ years. Particularly if NASA is not allowed to “adjust” the data.
CO2 is heavy and tends to hug the Earth’s surface.
I tried to find a “Carbon budget” but all the google links were pro-AGW and unreadable. I recall something from years ago that the budget was missing a sizeable proportion; but now, all the science is settled and everything is precisely known :^)
Mike D. @ur momisugly 11:41:48,
[rant]
I heard this piece of news on the radio this morning. It is a warning of just what the eniromentalists (sic) intend: complete regulation of the peoples’ behavior. The EU, gratis greenpeace et al, are planning on banning plasma TV screens.
Now, they will ban soft toilet paper. Obviously sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll are on the list. They will not rest until humanity is reduced to a few hundred thousand specimens living in caves until they die of old age and disease at age 30. It is natural after all.
But how do they feel about natural dentistry?
[/rant]
JohnH @ur momisugly 09:38:26):
How was the Candian satellite launched?
Slapshot.
Mike Jewitt
The only way for it to be absorbed by the oceans is if it sits at the surface with some downward pressure on it – ie gravity.
Wrong! It’s a question of partial pressures in the air and in the ocean at the surface.
” Jon H (12:37:16) :
As for Mars, well that planet is an oddity. Not real sure what to think of that report, but so many things about mars do not apply to any other planet, nothing would surprise me (other than little green men).”
Where’s the problem? They’re obviously plant derived & breath CO2!
They’re probably looking for the O2 sources & sinks right now!
DaveE.
“Also, the atmospheric gases tend to stratify in layers based on atomic/molecular weight, so the lightest gasses would be highest up in the atmosphere and easiest to boil off”.(Tom-R)….. Is there a link to this information?
This is a fascinating area ……CO2 Aw is 44,H2O is 18,O2 is 32,He is 4,Argon is 40,O2is 32,N2 is 28. So we would be smothered in CO2 without the earths rotation stirring things up.
I guess the planetary mass is very important too,wonder if Cassini has found any outgassing from Saturn?
I had a friend were I used to work we used too talk a lot about the whole global warming climate change “problem” I always said to him that it was just a part of evolution, simple as that. And to stop this evolution by messing with markets or
regulating them was just pure folly. Man is not out to destroy the planet he is
evolving. Fossil fuels are a put of that evolution. Fourth generation PMBR reactors
are here now why are we not using this this stuff?