Research themes

SRON’s Earth programme focuses on atmospheric measurements of the global carbon cycle (in particular CH4, CO₂ and CO) and aerosols. Our activities cover contributions to the full project cycle of space missions — from the proposal for a new mission, to the development of detector technology, to the design of the actual instruments, to the scientific analyses of the satellite data.

  • Methane

    • Responsible for ¼ of human-made greenhouse effect

    • About 30 times more powerful than CO₂ (GWP-100)

    • Large emissions from fossil fuel industry, landfills, livestock

  • CO₂

    • Most important human-made greenhouse gas

    • Hard to monitor emissions because of long lifetime

  • Carbon Monoxide

    • Reactions with atmospheric gases contribute to global warming

    • Trace gas to calculate CO₂ emissions from forest fires

    • One of the most important air pollutants
  • Aerosols and Clouds

    • Small particles in the atmosphere

    • Largest unknown factor in climate change

    • Strong impact on air quality

Meet our partners

We collaborate with climate researchers and modelers, and together contribute to the development of physical instruments and the promotion of scientific activities outside SRON.

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