Researchers from the Netherlands showed that as a result of forest fires in Australia in 2019-2020, 715 megatons of carbon dioxide were discarded. The article of scientists was published in the journal Nature.
The model of forest fires gave various estimates of carbon dioxide emissions during the Black Summer – fires in 2019 and 2020 in Australia, which produced the most destructive effect for the observation time. To correct the situation, researchers from the Free University of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Institute of Space Research decided to apply another approach.
To begin with the Tropomi Troopomi tool Sentinel-5 European Space Agency, they measured the content in the carbon monoxide atmosphere (CO). Using atmospheric transfer model based on CO values on the surface, scientists have established its intended concentrations in the atmosphere. After that, these indicators correlated with the TROPOMI installed, which made it possible to clarify the content of the gas. Based on the measurement established by measurements, the ratio between CO and carbon dioxide researchers managed to determine the amount of emissions of the latter.
Taking into account the trends of global warming, the researchers, the duration and strength of forest fires in Australia will only increase – which will lead to an even greater increase in the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.