AER: Remote Sensing to Promote Understanding of Climate Change

For more than 30 years, Verisk’s Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) subsidiary has developed state-of-the-art algorithms for modeling and simulation of the atmosphere. Important current projects include the algorithms for two NASA survey missions and the Japanese Greenhouse gases Observation SATellite (GOSAT). 

The data those satellites collect will improve our knowledge about the composition of the atmosphere and refine our picture of the environment.  The information will help scientists and policymakers understand and evaluate the magnitude and consequences of global climate change.

One NASA mission — the Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) — will monitor climate change by measuring the infrared light emitted by the atmosphere.

Another NASA mission — the Active Sensing of CO₂ Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) — aims to enhance understanding of the global carbon cycle.  ASCENDS will provide highly accurate measurements of the cycles of CO₂ sources and sinks. (A CO₂ sink is a reservoir that captures and stores carbon dioxide for a period of time.) Plants are both a source and sink of CO₂, taking up the gas during photosynthesis — especially when the sun is strongest at midday and during the summer — and releasing it at other times to make use of stored energy.  Comparing the amount of carbon stored with the amount released is important in understanding global greenhouse gas distributions and global climate change.

Both of the NASA missions are still in the concept phase, but GOSAT is already returning data to Earth, giving us vital information about the distribution of carbon dioxide and methane around the world. 

AER is proud to contribute to the international study of global climate change.