With a delicate hand, Anna Karion slides a large, enclosed box back into its protective shelf. She’s standing on top of a hill that overlooks the Washington D.C. area. This box, a greenhouse gas sensor, is connected to a tube that runs up a tall, metal tower that is constantly collecting air samples. Karion, a research scientist with the National Institute of Standards and Technology , is working to fine-tune GHG measuring instruments installed in a telecommunications tower.
This work is a part of a larger strategy developed by the Greenhouse Gas Monitoring and Measurement Interagency Working Group. The effort, as described in a recent White House, aims to unify GHG measurement, monitoring, and information efforts across the federal government and beyond. The data from AmeriFlux provided much of the foundational science needed to develop the report.
To measure and monitor GHG levels, scientists are using two different approaches. Activity based, or “bottom up” approaches estimate GHG emission and removal efforts through data that’s based on measured observations and computer models. Atmospheric based, or “top down” approaches, instead combine GHG amounts in our atmosphere and an understanding of how they move and interact chemically.
Those involved in this effort will reach across disciplines and tools. Researchers are looking to gather GHG information from satellite, airborne, and surface networks across a wide range of locations and times. Using the overlapping capabilities of these tools, scientists will be able to more accurately and confidently pinpoint GHG quantities. For example, satellites struggle to make GHG measurements during cloudy days.
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