A Phase A concept study selected by NASA in the Earth System Explorer mission proposal call.

The Carbon Investigation for High-resolution Mapping of Obscured Greenhouse Gases

Carbon-I global mode observations

Greenhouse gas studies from space are limited by scarce data in the cloudy tropics and by spatial resolution of current instruments

Carbon-I Will:

  • Collect 1000 times more data in the tropics by observing between clouds

  • Differentiate the sources and composition of emissions at the city block level anywhere

Objectives

  1. Identify, characterize and quantify hotspots of CH4 and CO2 emissions across the globe

  2. Quantify global CH4 and CO2, and CO monthly fluxes at unprecedented 12-100km resolution

  3. Attribute and quantify the processes driving natural and anthropogenic greenhouse gas fluxes

Mission Overview

  • Global mode: <400m sampling of land and coastal oceans monthly

  • Target mode: <50m sampling of key regions (95kmx95km; over 2 million acres)

  • Absorption spectroscopy to measure CH4, CO2, CO and relevant chemical tracers