GOSAT Mapping of Global Greenhouse Gas in 2020 and 2021

Abstract

Carbon dioxide and methane are the two most important greenhouse gases and are closely related to global warming and extreme weather events. To master their spatial and temporal variations, the CO2 and CH4 concentration data monitored by the GOSAT satellite in 2020 and 2021 were used to map and analyse the annual, seasonal and monthly changes in CO2 and CH4 concentrations in the world and major countries/regions. The results demonstrate that (1) in 2021, the average annual CO2 concentration over the global land area was 412.74 ppm, an increase in 0.64% compared with the same period last year, and there were spatial differences in the distribution of CO2 concentration, with high values mostly concentrated in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere; (2) compared with 2020, the CO2 concentration in China, the United States, India, the European Union and other countries/regions increased significantly; (3) in 2020 and 2021, the quarterly CO2 trend of the global and major countries/regions was the same, which was higher in the first (January, February, March) and second (April, May, June) quarters, significantly lower in the third (July, August, September) quarter, and gradually increased in the fourth (October, November, December) quarter. Further work on long time series and validation needs to be conducted.