NASA Satellite Measures Earth's Carbon Metabolism

Roland Piquepaille writes "To celebrate Earth Day, the NASA Earth Observatory recently revealed global measurements of the Earth's metabolism. 'Combining space-based measurements of a range of plant properties collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) with a suite of other satellite and surface-based measurements, NASA scientists produce composite maps of our world's 'net primary production' every 8 days. This new measurement is called net production because it indicates how much carbon dioxide is taken in by vegetation during photosynthesis minus how much is given off during respiration.' Check this column for a summary including the usefulness of such measurements. You'll also find maps showing the seasonal variation of Earth's net primary production."

Comments

The Earth's not fat...

[gpinzone]

It just has a low metabolism.

This is a job for....

[ihatewinXP]

Dr Atkins!

-Oh wait, he died last week... In our hour of need, no less.

What happens when all the carbon is gone?

[Hao Wu]

Do we start burning bed rock instead? What about geotherms from the earth's magma. Why can't we use it (they do in Iceland) as a carbon substitute.

Im confused...

[t0ny]

Once a planet warms up enough with green house gases, we can get some plant life on the planet to assist in the creation of oxygen through this same cycle and eventually make a planet liveable. Though it's not something we'll see in our lifetimes, studies such as these benefit the species as a whole in the long run (i.e. big picture of time).

But... I dont understand... Rush Limbaugh tells us that there is no such thing as the greenhouse effect...