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.
Ocean governance reforms now carry direct consequences for sustainable construction and environmental sustainability in construction. The UN High Seas Treaty and proposed protections for the Antarctic Peninsula introduce stricter environmental impact assessments for offshore and coastal developments, signalling an era of detailed whole life carbon assessment in marine-related infrastructure. Developers of subsea cables, interconnectors, and CO₂ pipelines will contend with extended consenting processes and biodiversity restrictions that influence material selection, eco-friendly construction practices, and low carbon design decisions across multiple jurisdictions. The evolution of marine spatial planning aligns with circular economy in construction principles, recognising supply-chain carbon exposure as both a design and compliance issue.
Trade policy disruption poses further challenges to sustainable building design. Prospective tariffs on low-carbon materials—such as green building materials, steel, engineered timber, and heat-pump components—threaten project timelines and budgets. Anticipated responses include regional procurement strategies, adoption of sustainable material specification, and more rigorous evaluation of embodied carbon in materials and life cycle cost performance. Demands for verifiable environmental product declarations (EPDs) and building lifecycle performance metrics are expected to rise as clients seek transparency for carbon neutral construction targets.
Climate volatility is reshaping low-impact construction strategies, particularly in flood-prone and mountainous regions. Designers must adopt adaptive lifecycle assessment frameworks that prioritise redundancy, attenuation, and slope stability. These approaches support net zero whole life carbon goals and reduce the carbon footprint of construction, reinforcing resilience and resource efficiency in construction.
The policy debate on decarbonisation is shifting toward measurable outcomes. Governments are preparing performance-linked procurement and finance mechanisms that embed whole life carbon benchmarks into material supply chains. The accelerating move toward net zero carbon buildings, green construction, and BREEAM V7 standards signals the transition from intent to implementation. Markets for low embodied carbon materials and circular construction strategies are scaling at pace, defining a new baseline for sustainable building practices and comprehensive whole life carbon accountability across the global built environment.
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