NASA’s PACE Mission: Unlocking Earth’s Future Through Cutting-Edge Observations

Unraveling the Mysteries of Aerosols and Phytoplankton: NASA’s PACE Mission

The Tiny Guardians of Earth’s Secrets

In the vast expanse of the sky and scattered throughout the oceans, two of the smallest yet most influential entities have long kept their secrets hidden: aerosols and phytoplankton. NASA has embarked on a mission called PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) to unlock these mysteries, which could be crucial in understanding the drastic changes our planet is undergoing as it warms.

The Complex Dynamics of Aerosols

Aerosols, tiny particles of dust, wildfire smoke, and fossil fuel pollution suspended in the atmosphere, play a complex role in Earth’s climate. They both absorb and reflect the sun’s energy and contribute to cloud formation, creating intricate dynamics that climate models still struggle to accurately represent.

Phytoplankton: The Unsung Heroes of the Ocean

Phytoplankton, the microscopic, plant-like organisms that form the foundation of the marine food web, also play a vital role in sequestering carbon, preventing Earth’s climate from warming even more rapidly. Jeremy Werdell of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center emphasizes the importance of understanding how phytoplankton move carbon around and how this changes over time.

PACE: Unprecedented Views of the Skies and Seas

PACE, a satellite observatory, will provide scientists with unparalleled views of these crucial inhabitants of the skies and seas, helping them predict how our world will evolve. Werdell, the project scientist of PACE, warns that the warming atmosphere and oceans will undoubtedly alter the base of the food chain from a biological perspective.

Seeing the Subtle Differences in Green

Although phytoplankton are tiny, they bloom in such vast numbers that they create large green streaks across the oceans. While this has been observable by satellite, PACE is equipped with a highly sensitive instrument that can see in high resolution across the electromagnetic spectrum, from ultraviolet to near-infrared. This allows PACE to distinguish between the subtle differences in green, much like how the leaves on various trees in a forest are slightly different shades of green, indicating different plant species.

Understanding Phytoplanktonic Communities

With its advanced capabilities, PACE will enable scientists to determine not only where phytoplankton are blooming and why but also the composition of the phytoplanktonic communities. There are thousands of phytoplankton species, each with different roles in the ecosystem, such as serving as food for zooplankton, being highly toxic, or sequestering carbon more effectively than others. Werdell compares the difference between what modern satellites can see and what PACE will see to the difference between drawing with a box of 8 crayons versus a box of 128.

The Impact of Warming Oceans on Phytoplankton

Understanding phytoplanktonic communities is crucial because of the rapid transformation of the oceans. The oceans have absorbed around 90 percent of the excess heat added to the atmosphere by human activities, and sea surface temperatures have recently soared to record highs and remained there. The high temperatures themselves may adversely affect the growth of some phytoplankton species while benefiting others that thrive in warmer conditions.

The Warm Water Cap and Nutrient Availability

Warm water acts as a cap at the ocean surface, with cooler waters swirling below. Werdell compares this to drinking a half and half at an Irish pub, with Guinness floating on top of Harp. This creates a barrier in the upper ocean, preventing nutrients in the cold water underneath from penetrating the warm water layer. Phytoplankton need these nutrients to grow, so if the warm water cap persists in a given area, it will further disrupt the community of photosynthesizing species. This, in turn, can impact the entire food chain, potentially affecting the food species that humans rely on for protein.