Watching carbon dioxide from space

This animation is a global visualization of the first year of carbon dioxide measurements (Sept. 2014 - Sept. 2015) from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 mission. Each map represents a 16-day cycle and shows average concentrations of carbon dioxide between the top of the atmosphere and Earth’s surface. An increase in carbon dioxide in the northern hemisphere is clearly visible during winter, when trees are not removing carbon dioxide. In spring, the carbon dioxide decreases as trees start to grow.