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In the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, the world has seen fuel emission rates splinter considerably and, according to NASA, it is possible to see space change there.
From its satellites, NASA can see everything that happens in Earth’s atmosphere, and with the effects of pollutants on the different ones. To this end, the agency has computer equipment, data sets, and sensors located on Earth’s surface, which continuously monitor the environment, allowing scientists to observe changes since 2005.
“The response from the pandemic world is an inadvertent experiment that is giving us an opportunity to test our understanding of various sources of air pollution,” said Barry Lefer, a NASA program scientist who assesses the planet’s tropospheric composition.
Joanna Joiner and Bryan Duncan, researchers at the Goddard Space Flight Center in the United States, are creating maps and images that show varying levels of nitrogen dioxide, an air pollutant often associated with burning fossil fuels in the atmosphere. According to experts, even the size of world economies can be measured in this way.
“We are looking at changes in nitrogen dioxide to understand how economies are changing,” Duncan said. “If the amount of pollution emitted continues to grow over time, its economy is likely to continue to grow.”
Less contamination
Since the early days of the pandemic, satellites have shown considerable changes in nitrogen dioxide levels. China and Italy, two epicenters of Covid-19, are good examples of countries that have positively affected their environment.
Although all NASA employees, whose work is not essential, are doing their home office, the agency continues to make progress on such monitoring, even remotely.
“Like our satellites, our work continues remotely,” said Sandra Cauffman, acting director of NASA’s Earth Sciences Division. “Scientists in the Earth Sciences Division continue to collect and analyze satellite and ground data on a global scale, and our programs are helping to characterize and understand global environmental signals. We do this by analyzing existing long-term data sets and funding new, cutting-edge research, ”he added.
Via: Space.com
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