Biomass, the living part of vegetation systems, plays a crucial role in climate. Around half of biomass is carbon, so when vegetation is destroyed, as in deforestation, carbon dioxide is released to the atmosphere. This is a huge source of atmospheric carbon – about 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. At the same […]

Systematic observations of the Earth’s atmosphere and surface from ground-based, airborne, and space-based sensors are absolutely crucial for the characterization of Earth’s climate. They are what make the work of the UNFCCC, the IPCC and the Paris Agreement possible, and more than half of the 60 or so Essential Climate Variables – the physical, chemical, […]