Global Carbon Dioxide 2020-2021

This visualization shows the atmosphere in three dimensions and highlights the accumulation of CO2 during a single calendar year. Every year, the world’s vegetation and oceans absorb about half of human CO2 emissions, providing an incredibly valuable service that has mitigated the rate of accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. However, around 2.5 parts per million remain in the atmosphere every year causing a steady upward march in concentrations that scientists have tracked since the 1950s at surface stations.

This visualization was created specifically to support a series of talks from NASA scientists for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), Glasgow, UK, 31 October-12 November 2021.

Originally published at: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4949

Visualization Credits:
Andrew J Christensen (SSAI): Lead Visualizer
Helen-Nicole Kostis (USRA): Lead Visualizer
Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC): Visualizer
Horace Mitchell (NASA/GSFC): Visualizer
Mark SubbaRao (NASA/GSFC): Lead Producer
Lesley Ott (NASA/GSFC): Lead Scientist
Brad Weir (USRA): Lead Scientist
Laurence Schuler (ADNET): Technical Support
Ian Jones (ADNET): Technical Support
Eric Sokolowsky (GST): Technical Support