March 9, 2021

As Earth warms, it's important to understand how carbon moves around the planet, including between the air and ocean. Since there are no direct global observations of carbon's flow between different parts of the planet, scientists use models to provide that information from various indirect data sources.

This animation shows results from one such model (the ECCO-Darwin ocean biogeochemistry model). The video shows the movement of carbon dioxide between the air and sea with the help of ocean surface winds from Jan. 3, 2012 to Aug. 15, 2012. Blue colors indicate the ocean's uptake of CO₂, and red colors indicate the ocean's release of CO₂. The pathlines indicate surface winds, which help drive the exchange of CO₂ between the atmosphere and ocean.

Learn more about and download this visualization here: https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4873.