Next time you check the weather on your desktop icon or mobile phone app, will you be ale to get an update on the carbon dioxide and methane concentrations in the air, as well?
That’s not clear yet, but Earth Networks, which operates WeatherBug, a real-time weather app for mobile devices and desktops, has just announced a collaboration to create greenhouse gas monitoring stations throughout California.
Under the plan, the state of California, along with scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the University of California at San Diego and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, will deploy a network of greenhouse gas monitoring stations for measuring concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane throughout the state.
The goal of the program is to get a more precise reading on greenhouse gas levels, as well as their origins.
“The data collected and integrated from these sites and additional atmospheric measurements are expected to reduce uncertainties in emission estimates,” project backers said.
Eventually, the researchers hope to be able to replicate the sophisticated measurement system throughout the nation. California has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020.
“More data is necessary to better understand the world around us and the changes taking place over time in the atmosphere,” Bob Marshall, president and CEO of Earth Networks, said in a statement.
“California has long been a leader in deploying new technologies and initiatives that help conserve resources, while supporting research that provides a greater understanding of our world today. The new integrated network will benefit the state of California by providing atmospheric greenhouse gas measurements on a scale that has never been achieved before.”
