NASA's Contributions to Carbon Management: Using Carbon Cycle Science to Inform Decisions

Edwin Sheffner
Applied Sciences Program, Science Mission Directorate
NASA, Washington, D.C.

Figure 4: Carbon Sequestration Matrix

Potential NASA inputs to carbon management (sequestration) are identified by scale and reservoir type.

In situ Local1 Regional2 Continental/Oceanic Global
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  1. Soil carbon and nitrogen content (forest inventory and ecological surveys; lab analysis [dry combustion, light-induced breakdown spectroscopy]; on-site testing)
  2. Soil moisture content (direct measurement)
  3. Standing biomass
    1. Leaf area and stem diameter (direct measurement)
    2. Vegetation structure [allometry] (LiDAR, radar from airborne platforms, in-situ measurements)
    3. Carbon content of biomass (lab analyses by species and inventories)
    4. Vegetation inventory (field sampling)
  4. Atmospheric exchange (Tower measurements of eddy-covariance CO2 and CH4 fluxes; automated soil-surface chambers; airborne concentration profilers)
  5. Soil erosion (Sampling)
  6. Stream POC and DOC (Sampling and laboratory analysis)
  1. Standing biomass (field sampling; airborne Lidar [LVIS or radar], 3-D videography, inventories)
  2. Land cover, land use and land cover change (multispectral airborne or space borne instrument ( IKONOS, QuickBird, OrbView, Landsat, ASTER)
  3. Vegetation properties (from remote sensing and inventories)
    1. Leaf area and canopy closure (Landsat, MODIS)
    2. Foliar chemistry (airborne hyperspectral instrument, e.g. AVIRIS)
    3. Canopy height and structure (airborne lidar or radar [AIRSAR, LVIS]; space borne MISR)
  4. Soil moisture (AIRSAR, UHF/VHF radar (IIP), Hydros)
  1. Vegetation characterization —type, condition, density, etc (Optical remote sensing from space borne platforms —Landsat, MODIS, VIIRS, MISR, ADEOSII, Envisat; data from inventories )
    1. Phenology (Landsat, MODIS)
  2. Land cover change (Optical remote sensing from space borne platforms —Landsat, MODIS, VIIRS etc.)
  3. CH4 flux (MOPITT, AIRS, TES, Envisat)
    Vegetation inventory (Field sampling, remote sensing Landsat, MODIS)
  4. Soil survey (Field inventory, remote sensing Landsat, hyperspectral)
  5. Soil moisture (SSM/I, Envisat, Hydros)
  6. Fire occurrence, intensity, burnt area (Landsat, MODIS)
    1. Vegetation impacts (MISER, AVIRIS, lidar, radar AIRSAR)
    2. Carbon emissions (Field experiments)
  7. carbon in wood products (from inventories)
  1. Vegetation characterization —type, condition, density, etc (Optical remote sensing from space borne platforms —Landsat, MODIS, AVHRR, VIIRS etc.)
  2. Land cover change —long term changes and near term disturbances. (Optical remote sensing from space borne platforms —Landsat, MODIS, VIIRS etc.)
  3. CH4 flux (MOPITT, AIRS, TES, Envisat)
  4. Soil moisture (SSM/I, Envisat, Hydros (ESSP alternate))
  1. Vegetation characterization —type, condition, density, etc (Optical remote sensing from space borne platforms —Landsat, MODIS, VIIRS etc.)
  2. Land cover change (Optical remote sensing from space borne platforms —Landsat, MODIS, VIIRS etc.)
  3. Total atmospheric carbon (OCO)
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  1. Total carbon in partial water column (direct measurement, airborne measurements [UAV])
  2. CO2 partial pressure (Direct measurement)
  3. Total alkalinity (Direct measurement)
  4. pH (Direct measurement)
  5. Phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass (Direct measurement; airborne observations)
  6. Primary productivity (Direct measurement; airborne observations)
  7. POC and DOC profiles (Direct measurement)
  1. Atmospheric carbon near the ocean surface (airborne instrument)
  2. Wind speed (Quickscat, ADEOSII, Seawinds follow on)
  3. Sea surface temperature (AVHRR, MODIS, Envisat)
  4. Phytoplankton biomass/productivity (SeaWIFS, MODIS, ADEOSII, Envisat, NPP, NPOESS)
  5. Ocean organic carbon (ADEOSII, Ocean carbon mission)
 (Same as "Continental/Oceanic")
  1. Ocean/atmosphere carbon exchange (OCO)
  2. Wind speed (Quickscat, ADEOSII, Seawinds follow on)
  3. Sea surface temperature (AVHRR, MODIS, Envisat)
  4. Phytoplankton biomass (SeaWIFS, MODIS, ADEOSII, Envisat, NPP, NPOESS)
  5. Ocean organic carbon (ADEOSII, Ocean carbon mission)
  1. Sea surface temperature (AVHRR, MODIS, Envisat)
  2. Phytoplankton biomass (SeaWIFS, MODIS, ADEOSII, Envisat, NPP, NPOESS)
  3. Ocean organic carbon (ADEOSII, Ocean carbon mission)
  4. Total atmospheric carbon (OCO)
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  1. Downhole sampling for leakage (micro drilling, borehole logging, geochemical sampling) for plume detection and ground water contamination
  2. Above ground leak detection and discrimination from natural emissions (eddy covariance flux measurements from stationary sources)
  3. Vegetation condition (direct measurement of change in carbon content of vegetation samples via destructive or non-destructive testing)
  1. Downhole sampling for leakage (micro drilling, borehole logging, geochemical sampling) for plume detection and ground water contamination
  2. Above ground testing of water for carbon content
  3. Vegetation condition
    1. Direct measurements of samples
    2. Carbon content of vegetation and soils from airborne (e.g. AVIRIS) and space borne hyperspectral instruments.
 (Same as "Local") NA NA
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  1. Emissions by biomass burning (direct measurements)
  2. Removal by harvest (direct measurement; inventory)
  1. Changes in atmospheric carbon near the ground (eddy correlation measurements from towers or ground based instruments; airborne instrumentation.)
  2. Land cover change (airborne or space borne instrumentation with ground resolution no greater than 15-30m.)
  1. Land cover change (Airborne or space borne instrumentation with ground resolution no greater than 15-30m.)
 NA NA
1Up to 1 km2
2Up to thousands of km2: Information reportable at political (county/borough, state/province, country) and natural region (ecosystem) levels.