NASA has just launched a new and improved satellite into orbit that will allow it to more accurately measure the effects of climate change on our planet. STEP — acronym for “Plankton, Aerosol, Climate and Ocean Ecosystem” — It was launched this Thursday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
“PACE will help us learn, as never before, how particles in our atmosphere and oceans may determine key factors influencing global warming,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. The space agency confirmed the activation of the satellite’s signal five minutes after its launch.
The satellite will spend at least three years studying the oceans and atmosphere. at an altitude of 676 kilometers. Each day it will scan the planet using two polarimeters, instruments designed to study how sunlight interacts with particles in the air. This will provide NASA researchers with new information about atmospheric aerosols, cloud properties and air quality at local, regional and global scales.
The satellite has a third instrument for analyzing oceans and other bodies of water using ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared light. In this way, NASA will be able to monitor the distribution of phytoplankton and, for the first time from space, determine which communities of these organisms are present on a global scale. This would help, for example, study harmful algal blooms and other changes in the sea caused by climate change.
NASA’s contribution to the climate emergency
Studying phytoplankton is important because they play a key role in the global carbon cycle. These organisms absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into their cellular material. In addition, they are necessary for the development of some aquatic ecosystems.
NASA already has more than two dozen Earth-observing satellites and instruments in orbit. “PACE will give us another dimension” compared to what other satellites observe, said NASA Earth Science Director Karen St. Germain.
Climate change is already having a powerful impact on the oceans. It is not simple sea level rise, which reached a historic high in 2023. Last August, scientists warned that average ocean surface temperatures had reached their highest levels ever.
The PACE mission began planning 20 years ago, NASA said in a statement. “The possibilities that PACE will offer are very exciting, and we will be able to use these incredible technologies in ways we have not yet anticipated,” said Jeremy Verdell, PACE project scientist. “This is truly a mission of discovery.”
The new satellite is one of several NASA projects to address the climate emergency. Last December, the agency created a center specifically designed to promote the dissemination of data to help curb climate change.
2023 ended as the hottest year on record, and this year could be even worse. The British Met Office has warned that Average global temperature could momentarily exceed 1.5°C in 2024. Two factors support this forecast: emissions of polluting gases continue to rise, and the El Niño phenomenon, which began last year, has not yet reached its peak.
Source: Hiper Textual
