Global Carbon Atlas

Global Carbon Atlas
Name	Global Carbon Atlas
Established	2013
Type	Scientific data portal
Focus	Carbon dioxide emissions, carbon sinks, greenhouse gases
Parent	Global Carbon Project

Global Carbon Atlas The Global Carbon Atlas is an online scientific data platform that maps and visualizes global and regional carbon dioxide emissions and removals. Launched to support climate science and policy communities, the Atlas aggregates datasets from international bodies and research institutions to inform decision-making at scales from cities to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations. It interfaces with models, inventories, and observational networks to provide interoperable products for researchers linked to institutions such as the Global Carbon Project, International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, and national agencies.

Overview

The Atlas offers spatially explicit representations of emissions from fossil fuels, land-use change, and natural sinks using harmonized inputs from partners like the International Energy Agency, Food and Agriculture Organization, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and European Commission. Its audience includes contributors to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments, analysts at the World Bank, negotiators attending UNFCCC COP sessions, and scientists affiliated with universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, and Université Paris-Saclay. Visualizations are used alongside reports from organizations like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and datasets from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center.

Data and Methodology

Data sources include national inventories submitted to the UNFCCC, gridded emission datasets produced by the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, satellite retrievals from missions such as OCO-2, and atmospheric inversion outputs from centers including the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service and the Global Carbon Project synthesis teams. Methodological frameworks draw on protocols from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Guidelines and combine bottom-up accounting (sectoral statistics used by the International Energy Agency and BP) with top-down constraints from atmospheric measurements by networks like the Integrated Carbon Observation System and the World Meteorological Organization Global Atmosphere Watch. Quality control and uncertainty quantification reference methods developed at institutions such as the Met Office, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Products and Tools

Products include interactive maps, time-series charts, downloadable gridded CO2 and carbon flux layers, and country-level dashboards used by policy groups such as the International Renewable Energy Agency and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Analytical tools support comparison with scenarios from integrated assessment models like those used in IPCC reports and databases maintained by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and IIASA. The Atlas interoperates with geospatial platforms including Google Earth Engine workflows and data services compatible with standards from the Open Geospatial Consortium and the Group on Earth Observations.

Applications and Impact

Researchers use Atlas outputs to validate model simulations at centers like the National Center for Atmospheric Research and to inform carbon budgeting in national planning offices and ministries involved with Paris Agreement commitments. Non-governmental organizations such as WWF and Greenpeace have applied Atlas visualizations in advocacy, while city planners in municipalities linked to networks like the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and regional authorities in the European Union rely on its products for mitigation strategies. The Atlas supports academic publications co-authored by investigators from Imperial College London, Peking University, and Australian National University, and contributes to datasets cited in reports from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services where land-use carbon fluxes intersect with biodiversity metrics.

Governance and Funding

The platform is governed and maintained by international consortia composed of research groups affiliated with the Global Carbon Project, national research agencies such as the CNRS and funding organizations including national science foundations and multilateral funders like the Global Environment Facility and philanthropic supporters. Technical partnerships involve institutes such as the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement and coordination with data centers like the British Antarctic Survey and the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research. Funding models combine project grants from entities like the European Research Council with institutional contributions and collaborative agreements with intergovernmental bodies.

History and Development

Conceived within the community around the Global Carbon Project and responding to needs articulated at workshops hosted by organizations such as the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme and the World Climate Research Programme, the Atlas evolved from prototype map servers and academic portals developed at universities including ETH Zurich and Université Grenoble Alpes. Early development integrated datasets from initiatives like the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center and the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, and successive releases have expanded functionality following collaborations with satellite missions from NASA and European Space Agency and modeling centers such as the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry. Continuous updates reflect advances from communities convened at international conferences, workshops led by the Global Carbon Project, and contributions from national inventory compilers.

Category:Climate change Category:Carbon cycle Category:Environmental data repositories