What color is the ocean? 🌊🤔 It depends! Earth’s ocean can be green...

NASA Climate Change 3 years ago

What color is the ocean? 🌊🤔 It depends! Earth’s ocean can be green from phytoplankton, red with an algae bloom, swirling with brown and tan sediment, and many more colors. The color of the ocean can tell scientists a lot about ocean health and Earth’s climate. And, with the PACE satellite now in orbit, we’ll be able to see the ocean in more colors than ever before! 🛰️🌈 Video description: :00 Aerial view of ocean waves. A blue question mark covers the screen. A large red X replaces it. Quick succession of shots of the blue open ocean, blue-green water, red water with an algal bloom, turquoise swirls, green water and more. :12 Satellite images of green algal blooms in the water, followed by a poster about closing the area due to an algal bloom. :15 Animation of ocean chlorophyll data on a global map. The PACE satellite appears at the bottom of the screen. :22 Panning over more ocean color data on a global map. :28 Animation of the PACE satellite over Earth. The words “Plankton Aerosol Cloud ocean Ecosystem.” :33 Animation of the PACE satellite orbiting Earth, leaving data in its wake. Three circles appear. One has fish, one shows ocean and atmosphere exchange, and one shows global temperatures. #Earth #Ocean #NASA #PACE #KeepingPACE #Science

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 5 hours ago



A £400m UK government loan to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility tightens the link between embodied carbon and real forest outcomes. Bio‑based and renewable building materials will now be judged on credible, deforestation‑free supply chains as much as on glossy lifecycle assessment or whole life carbon assessment outputs, driving wider use of environmental product declarations (EPDs), green building materials and green building products. Expect stronger traceability, circular construction strategies and end‑of‑life reuse in construction when specifying low embodied carbon materials and low carbon construction materials to cut the carbon footprint of construction and support the circular economy in construction.

Updated damp and mould guidance from the Chartered Institute of Building and the Chartered Institute of Housing reframes indoor environmental quality as a health obligation, pressing social landlords towards whole‑house ventilation, insulation upgrades and continuous monitoring. The shift embeds sustainable building design and energy‑efficient buildings as compliance issues, with implications for life cycle cost, building lifecycle performance and net zero whole life carbon pathways recognised by BREEAM and BREEAM v7.

A new retrofit procurement guide uses public spending to expand capacity, create local jobs and tackle skills shortages by baking training and labour targets into contracts. This gives sustainable construction and decarbonising the built environment delivery teeth, promoting life cycle thinking in construction, resource efficiency in construction and eco‑design for buildings, alongside sustainable material specification and low carbon building upgrades that support carbon neutral construction.

Escalating climate risks—from European wildfires to transboundary smoke and cascading Himalayan floods—are accelerating environmental sustainability in construction and sustainable urban development. Design for resilience is becoming core to net zero carbon buildings and green construction, with fire‑hardening, smoke filtration, heat‑safe interiors and green infrastructure specified to reduce the environmental impact of construction, deliver carbon footprint reduction over whole life carbon and strengthen eco‑friendly construction and sustainable architecture.

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