Space agencies monitor forests
Source: Agencies |
October 21, 2009, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SPACE agencies and Google Inc are helping an international project to monitor forests by satellite to fight global warming, the head of an international earth observation group said yesterday.
Deforestation from Brazil to Indonesia is blamed for emitting about a fifth of all greenhouse gases from human activities 贸 plants soak up carbon as they grow and release it when they burn or rot.
矛The only way to measure forests efficiently is from space,? said Jose Achache, director of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), which is linking governments, space agencies such as NASA and others in a new partnership to measure forests.
The system would aim to make annual assessments of forest carbon stocks, compared to a current five-year cycle.
Google, which offers satellite images via its Google Earth site, would contribute with a related project to be revealed later, Achache said.
America铆s NASA, the European Space Agency and national space agencies of Japan, Germany, Italy, India and Brazil were among those taking part in the forest mapping.
Costs would be low, Achache said, since satellite data were already being collected for other purposes.
Satellite images from the US Landsat go back to 1972 贸 enabling the world to work out deforestation rates since then. A base year of 1990 might be used, in line with the UN铆s Kyoto Protocol for cutting industrial emissions.
Deforestation from Brazil to Indonesia is blamed for emitting about a fifth of all greenhouse gases from human activities 贸 plants soak up carbon as they grow and release it when they burn or rot.
矛The only way to measure forests efficiently is from space,? said Jose Achache, director of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), which is linking governments, space agencies such as NASA and others in a new partnership to measure forests.
The system would aim to make annual assessments of forest carbon stocks, compared to a current five-year cycle.
Google, which offers satellite images via its Google Earth site, would contribute with a related project to be revealed later, Achache said.
America铆s NASA, the European Space Agency and national space agencies of Japan, Germany, Italy, India and Brazil were among those taking part in the forest mapping.
Costs would be low, Achache said, since satellite data were already being collected for other purposes.
Satellite images from the US Landsat go back to 1972 贸 enabling the world to work out deforestation rates since then. A base year of 1990 might be used, in line with the UN铆s Kyoto Protocol for cutting industrial emissions.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
