Atmospheric observations suggest methane emissions in north-eastern China growing with natural gas use.

The dramatic increase of natural gas use in China, as a substitute for coal, helps to reduce CO emissions and air pollution, but the climate mitigation benefit can be offset by methane leakage into the atmosphere. We estimate methane emissions from 2010 to 2018 in four regions of China using the GOSAT satellite data and in-situ observations with a high-resolution (0.1° × 0.

Global terrestrial carbon fluxes of 1999-2019 estimated by upscaling eddy covariance data with a random forest.

The terrestrial biosphere is a key player in slowing the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. While quantification of carbon fluxes at global land scale is important for mitigation policy related to climate and carbon, measurements are only available at sites scarcely distributed in the world. This leads to using various methods to upscale site measurements to the whole terrestrial biosphere.

Highly porous nature of a primitive asteroid revealed by thermal imaging.

Carbonaceous (C-type) asteroids are relics of the early Solar System that have preserved primitive materials since their formation approximately 4.6 billion years ago. They are probably analogues of carbonaceous chondrites and are essential for understanding planetary formation processes.

High-resolution inventory of mercury emissions from biomass burning in tropical continents during 2001-2017.

Mercury emissions from biomass burning contribute significantly to the atmospheric mercury budget and the interannual variation of mercury concentrations in the troposphere. This study developed a high-resolution (0.1° × 0.

Underlying causes of PM-induced premature mortality and potential health benefits of air pollution control in South and Southeast Asia from 1999 to 2014.

Quantification of spatial and temporal variations in premature mortality attributable to PM has important implications for air quality control in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA). The number of PM-induced premature deaths during 1999-2014 in SSEA was estimated using an integrated exposure-response model based on 0.01° × 0.

Long-term trends and spatial patterns of PM-induced premature mortality in South and Southeast Asia from 1999 to 2014.

Fine particulate matter (PM) poses a potential threat to human health, including premature mortality under long-term exposure. Based on a long-term series of high-resolution (0.01°×0.

Long-term trends and spatial patterns of satellite-retrieved PM concentrations in South and Southeast Asia from 1999 to 2014.

Fine particulate matter, or PM, is a serious air pollutant and has significant effects on human health, including premature death. Based on a long-term series of satellite-retrieved PM concentrations, this study analyzed the spatial and temporal characteristics of PM in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA) from 1999 to 2014 using standard deviation ellipse and trend analyses. A health risk assessment of human exposure to PM between 1999 and 2014 was then undertaken.

Temporal comparison of global inventories of CO emissions from biomass burning during 2002-2011 derived from remotely sensed data.

Biomass burning is a large important source of greenhouse gases and atmospheric aerosols, and can contribute greatly to the temporal variations of CO emissions at regional and global scales. In this study, we compared four globally gridded CO emission inventories from biomass burning during the period of 2002-2011, highlighting the similarities and differences in seasonality and interannual variability of the CO emissions both at regional and global scales. The four datasets included Global Fire Emissions Database 4s with small fires (GFED4s), Global Fire Assimilation System 1.

High-Resolution Mapping of Biomass Burning Emissions in Three Tropical Regions.

Biomass burning in tropical regions plays a significant role in atmospheric pollution and climate change. This study quantified a comprehensive monthly biomass burning emissions inventory with 1 km high spatial resolution, which included the burning of vegetation, human waste, and fuelwood for 2010 in three tropical regions. The estimations were based on the available burned area product MCD64A1 and statistical data.

Comparison of global inventories of CO2 emissions from biomass burning during 2002-2011 derived from multiple satellite products.

This study compared five widely used globally gridded biomass burning emissions inventories for the 2002-2011 period (Global Fire Emissions Database 3 (GFED3), Global Fire Emissions Database 4 (GFED4), Global Fire Assimilation System 1.0 (GFAS1.0), Fire INventory from NCAR 1.

The global distribution of pure anorthosite on the Moon.

It has been thought that the lunar highland crust was formed by the crystallization and floatation of plagioclase from a global magma ocean, although the actual generation mechanisms are still debated. The composition of the lunar highland crust is therefore important for understanding the formation of such a magma ocean and the subsequent evolution of the Moon. The Multiband Imager on the Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE) has a high spatial resolution of optimized spectral coverage, which should allow a clear view of the composition of the lunar crust.

Normative productivity of the global vegetation.

Background: The biosphere models of terrestrial productivity are essential for projecting climate change and assessing mitigation and adaptation options. Many of them have been developed in connection to the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) that backs the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In the end of 1990s, IGBP sponsored release of a data set summarizing the model outputs and setting certain norms for estimates of terrestrial productivity.

Long-lived volcanism on the lunar farside revealed by SELENE Terrain Camera.

We determined model ages of mare deposits on the farside of the Moon on the basis of the crater frequency distributions in 10-meter-resolution images obtained by the Terrain Camera on SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) (Kaguya). Most mare volcanism that formed mare deposits on the lunar farside ceased at approximately 3.0 billion years ago, suggesting that mare volcanism on the Moon was markedly reduced globally during this period.

Lack of exposed ice inside lunar south pole Shackleton Crater.

The inside of Shackleton Crater at the lunar south pole is permanently shadowed; it has been inferred to hold water-ice deposits. The Terrain Camera (TC), a 10-meter-resolution stereo camera onboard the Selenological and Engineering Explorer (SELENE) spacecraft, succeeded in imaging the inside of the crater, which was faintly lit by sunlight scattered from the upper inner wall near the rim. The estimated temperature of the crater floor, based on the crater shape model derived from the TC data, is less than approximately 90 kelvin, cold enough to hold water-ice.