Earth’s oceans are turning green with a warming climate, but exactly how and why is unclear.
Current satellites don’t have enough sensitivity to color to see subtle shifts in hue. PACE will see the ocean in more color than ever before, helping us discern what’s driving the shift toward greener oceans.
#Earth #PACE #Climate #ClimateChange #Ocean #NASA #PACE #KeepingPACE
Video description:
:00 Aerial view of the blue open ocean. In a new view of the ocean, arrows show how the water absorbs light. A diagram shows how phytoplankton, zooplankton, and lager marine life interact in the food web.
:20 Animation of a globe in green, blue, yellow and red, showing the presence of different type of phytoplankton. A circle appears. Inside of it are green phytoplankton, Prochlorococcus.
:30 Phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish, sea lions, sharks, krakens and more appear on screen in succession.
:45 An animation shows blue and green colors on a globe of Earth’s oceans, showing where the ocean is changing hue. Another globe shows green pixels in the ocean labeled “areas with chlorophyll change.”
:55 An animation shows the color detection capabilities of several satellites: NIMBUS-7, SEASTAR, AQUA, TERRA, SUOMI-NPP, and PACE. All of the satellites except PACE have large gaps between the purple, blue, green, red, and other colors they can detect. Next to PACE is a rainbow bar showing the full spectrum of color.
1:05 The video ends on another aerial view of water.
Sustainable construction is moving from ESG aspiration to financial discipline. More than 830 companies and investors now back TNFD nature-risk disclosure, including investors with $26tr under management and listed firms worth $10.5tr. For developers, designers and material suppliers, environmental sustainability in construction is becoming inseparable from balance-sheet risk, whole life carbon, embodied carbon and credible whole life carbon assessment.
Climate exposure is also redefining sustainable building design. Insurers are reported to be retreating from some climate-risk cover, making life cycle cost, building lifecycle performance and resilience central to investment decisions. Satellite evidence of uneven urban subsidence, including coastal Jakarta sinking by up to 7cm a year in some areas, underlines the need for sustainable design, low carbon design, robust foundations, drainage and green infrastructure from the earliest project stages. Southern England’s severe water stress and tougher regulatory checks on corporate water use reinforce the commercial case for energy-efficient buildings, water-conscious eco-design for buildings and sustainable urban development.
Materials transparency is becoming a decisive test for green construction. Think Timber’s new pricing and supply-chain data platform points to the practical data needed to scale renewable building materials, green building materials and low carbon construction materials beyond flagship schemes. Stronger visibility over timber supply, sustainable material specification and embodied carbon in materials supports lifecycle assessment, environmental product declarations (EPDs), resource efficiency in construction and more reliable procurement for net zero carbon buildings.
The defence of the EU emissions trading system by energy and business groups signals intensifying pressure on cement, steel and other carbon-heavy inputs. The carbon footprint of construction will be priced more directly, accelerating demand for low embodied carbon materials, carbon footprint reduction, carbon neutral construction and decarbonising the built environment. Firms pursuing net zero whole life carbon will need circular economy thinking, circular economy in construction, circular construction strategies and end-of-life reuse in construction rather than isolated product substitutions.
UK construction output fell 1% in the second quarter, sharpening the commercial test for sustainable building practices. The strongest firms will make low-impact construction, eco-friendly construction and net zero carbon delivery repeatable rather than bespoke. BREEAM, BREEAM v7 and similar frameworks will matter most where they support life cycle thinking in construction, measurable building performance and lower environmental impact of construction. Green building is no longer a marketing claim; it is risk management, insurability and long-term asset protection.
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