It is not the light of modern incandescent lamps, it is human pollution.
If you looked from space with the naked eye, you would hardly be able to see any traces of the emissions emitted by fuel consumption. Luckily, Descartes Labs just released a new data analysis that lets you see what your eyes can’t.
And unfortunately, these images make us think about what industry vehicles still emit on the road.
The silver lines and patches indicate the release of nitrate dioxide, a gas released from fuel consumption and also responsible for acid rain, toxic smog, and lung disease. It is true that nitro-dioxide can come from natural sources, but it is the man-made sources that create the disturbing silver spots.
Gasoline vehicles, fuel plants, and large construction sites can all push more nitro dioxide into the air. Forest fires, slash-and-burn agriculture or any act of straw burning also contribute to air pollution. Simply put, the silver dots on the map indicate where the burn is taking place.
The data is obtained from the Sentinel-5P satellite, launched in October 2017 with the mission of monitoring the Earth’s atmosphere. It is part of a cluster of satellites launched by the European Space Agency ESA, whose main objective is to monitor all natural processes on Earth. Other satellites are tasked with monitoring trees, temperatures, and even monitoring cracks in the Antarctic ice.
The silver line map above is just one of the many results obtained by Descartes Labs. To obtain them, the researchers created a dataset, assembled from individual images taken between August and September 2018. Watermarks caused by clouds, poor quality images will be filtered out.
Nitro dioxide does not last long in the atmosphere to reach other areas, so most nitro dioxide will end up in the air where it is released. These are the big cities, where the traffic is concentrated. But there are still nitro dioxide emission points that surprised researchers.
“There are ocean-going ships or industrial towns in the middle of a clearing,” explains Tim Wallace, design manager at Descartes Labs.
