A Geoengineering Perspective on the Future: The Oceans and Atmosphere Polarimeters of the Space Telescope on PACE

The startup quickly faced backlash — including the government of Mexico banning its experiments — because of the potential planetary consequences of attempting to deliberately manipulate Earth’s atmosphere. Relating to the oceans and atmosphere in a way that still faces stiff opposition from Researchers and Environmental Advocates is still called “geoengineering”.

There are also a couple sci-fi-sounding scenarios that this kind of research could feasibly support one day. There’s been some early study into ways to potentially boost phytoplankton’s absorption of carbon dioxide by providing them with more nutrients. There have also been headlines lately about one startup’s rogue attempts at launching aerosols into the atmosphere to try to stop global warming.

Funny thing is, decades of work cleaning up aerosol pollution has been a double-edged sword. Aerosol particles, and some of the clouds that can form around them, can reflect solar radiation back out into space. Global warming might be hastened by fewer aerosols in the atmosphere. Two toaster-sized instruments on PACE are called polarimeters, which can detect what kinds of aerosols are present based on how they reflect light. Knowing what kinds of aerosols are out there can help scientists fine-tune climate models so they can make more accurate forecasts for the future.

Two other instruments on board the spacecraft will study particles in the atmosphere, specifically aerosols that can affect air quality. In a NASA video, a polarimetry data science and software lead says that aerosols are important to human health and we need to quantify what is out there.

The ocean color instrument carried by the satellite will make observations across many light spectrums. That’ll allow scientists to differentiate between species of phytoplankton by their unique color for the first time from space. They are able to figure out what kinds of organisms exist in the ocean and how the sea may change in the future.

There are ways in which the surface of the sea can be different colors, despite being too subtle to see, despite a red tide being extreme.

Plankton also form the base of ocean food chains, which makes them extremely important for the health of marine ecosystems and fisheries. Toxic red tides can be caused by toxicalgae, but each species of the plankton has its own interactions with the environment.

Plankton from Space: The Search for Differences in the Color of the Atmosphere, Ocean and Earth’s Habitable Habitable Zones

The Administrator of NASA said in a press release that the particles in our atmosphere and ocean can identify key factors impacting global warming.

It’ll examine microscopic plants and particles — things so small they’re invisible to the naked eye — from hundreds of miles above Earth. The goal is for us to better understand how tiny things are able to have a large impact on the planet.

Who knew you could see plankton from space? NASA, of course. The space agency successfully launched a new mission today called PACE — short for the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem satellite — that will study its namesake.

Climate models still struggle with complex dynamics of aerosols and fossil fuel pollution that can affect the sun’s energy, build clouds and absorb dust. The food web is formed by marine organisms that are plant-like. They also sequester carbon, keeping Earth’s climate from warming even further. The carbon is moving around and we want to understand how that changes with time.

Think about what you see while you are in the forest. “All the leaves on the various trees are green, but they’re very subtly different greens, which means they’re different plants,” says Werdell. “Really what we’re searching for are these very, very subtle changes in color.”

Warm water as a cap at the ocean surface: How does it shake up the zooplankton population? A preliminary analysis by Werdell

The oceans are rapidly changing and better understanding these communities is very important. They’ve absorbed something like 90 percent of the excess heat humanity has added to the atmosphere, and over the past year or so in particular, sea surface temperatures have soared to record highs and stayed there. It is possible that the high temperatures affect the growth of some species, but may actually benefit others as the mercury goes up.

More subtly, warm water acts like a kind of cap at the ocean surface, with cooler waters swirling below. It is similar to drinking at your favorite Irish pub. Werdell says Guinness is on top of the Harp. “That creates a barrier in this huge stretch of real estate in the upper ocean, where nutrients in the cold water underneath this layer of warm water can’t penetrate.”

Phytoplankton need those nutrients to grow, so if the cap of warm water persists in a given area, that’ll further shake up the community of photosynthesizing species. If the number of zooplankton doesn’t increase because there are less species that they need for food, then that could be a sign of decline. And then the larger predators like fish that eat the zooplankton will be impacted, on up the food chain. That could eventually affect the food species that humans rely on for protein.