Earth’s ocean and atmosphere are changing as our planet warms. Launching in February 2024, @NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite will help us understand how.
The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem satellite, or PACE, will allow @nasaocean scientists to study ocean health, identify different types of phytoplankton, study clouds and aerosols, understand the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle, and more.
Video description:
:00 Two shots stacked atop each other. The top shows clouds. The bottom shows ocean water. Text reads “Earth’s ocean and atmosphere are changing as our planet warms.”
:05 Animation of the PACE satellite orbiting earth. “NASA’s newest Earth-observing satellite, PACE, will help us understand how. PACE= Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean, Ecosystem”
:09 Image of the turquoise swirls labeled phytoplankton bloom, followed by a shot of beach water that appears red from a phytoplankton bloom. “Climate change is affecting the abundance and types of phytoplankton. These tiny marine critters can sequester carbon and release it back into the atmosphere.”
:18 Shot of the PACE satellite in the clean room. An arrow points to a rectangular instrument covered by a hood and identifies it as “PACE’s Ocean Color Instrument (OCI)”.
:21 Close up of a scientist pipetting amber liquid into a beaker, followed by a satellite image of bright teal phytoplankton blooms swirling in blue ocean. “OCI will allow scientists to study ocean health and the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle in a warming world.”
:28 Animation of GMAO model data of aerosols. “PACE will also investigate one of the trickiest components of climate change to model”
:33 Animation of blue water droplets around spiky gray aerosol particles. The shot transitions to a view of fire smoke. “How clouds and aerosols interact.”
:37 Animation of the PACE satellite orbiting a globe. As it passes over, it leaves a swath of colorful ocean and aerosol data in its wake. “As Earth’s systems change in a warmer world, PACE is soon to be on the case.”
#Earth #NASA #Ocean #Sea #PACE #Clouds #Atmosphere #Science #Satellite #EarthFromSpace #Climate #ClimateChange
The UK’s latest commitment to decarbonising the built environment marks a pivotal moment for sustainable construction. With £90 million allocated through the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition, ministers are reinforcing domestic manufacturing of renewable heating technologies that underpin low carbon building strategies. This initiative reflects the government’s drive to advance environmental sustainability in construction, steering the sector towards net zero whole life carbon performance benchmarks. By aligning production capacity with regulatory targets, the policy enhances both supply chain resilience and the carbon footprint reduction essential to achieving net zero carbon buildings across the nation.
The £420 million relief for energy-intensive industries such as steel, cement and glass adds industrial depth to the strategy. These sectors represent some of the highest embodied carbon contributors within material supply chains. Reducing their electricity costs incentivises investment in low embodied carbon materials and circular economy practices critical for sustainable building design. The provision of up to 90% discounts on network charges from 2026 will help accelerate lifecycle assessment adoption, enabling manufacturers to assess whole life carbon assessment more precisely across their products and infrastructure.
Growing momentum around regenerative and nature-based approaches reinforces broader environmental ambitions. The funding directed by Waitrose to promote nature-friendly livelihoods reveals how life cycle thinking in construction could mirror agricultural models of circular economy success. Sustainable material specification and end-of-life reuse in construction are increasingly aligned with this ecosystem logic, where eco-design for buildings prioritises renewable building materials and measurable reductions in embodied carbon in materials from design through demolition.
Grassroots forums such as Dorset COP add a vital regional dimension to decarbonising the built environment. Their emphasis on actionable climate frameworks resonates with the construction sector’s need for practical methods such as whole life carbon assessment and lifecycle performance evaluation using tools like BREEAM and its forthcoming BREEAM v7 standards. These systems help quantify the environmental impact of construction and embed sustainable building practices within local planning mechanisms, improving both energy-efficient buildings and sustainable urban development outcomes.
Across every layer of industry, from corporate governance to site operations, design thinkers are adopting circular construction strategies that merge carbon neutral construction with resource efficiency in construction. The intersection of whole life cost and sustainability increasingly defines quality in green construction, where eco-friendly construction solutions and green building products underscore design integrity and performance transparency. This new era of low carbon design is not aesthetic posturing but an operational shift toward verifiable decarbonisation and a built environment that authentically measures its sustainability footprint over its entire lifecycle.
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