Carbon dioxide: the most important man-made greenhouse gas
SRON’s role in CO₂ research
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most important man-made greenhouse gas, mostly because of the combustion of fossil fuels. Although the atmospheric concentration seems small–less than 0,05%–the rise of CO₂ has a major effect on the Earth’s climate, including global warming and the increase of extreme weather events. SRON plays a key role in the implementation and data exploitation of CO₂ monitoring missions. We support ESA and EUMETSAT with the implementation of the CO2M mission and we develop the Tango mission together with our Dutch partners ISIS Space, TNO, and KNMI.
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projects
SPEXone for CO2M
SPEXone is a small multi-angle spectropolarimeter for the quantification of atmospheric aerosol. It provides a light-path correction for CO₂ quantification. It is a candidate instrument for the two ESA’s CO2M satellites to be launched in 2026.
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projects
TANGO
The Twin Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas Observers (TANGO) comprises two cubesats: TANGO-Carbon and TANGO-Nitro. It is a candidate mission of ESA’s SCOUT program to be launched in 2026.
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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ESA
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EUMETSAT
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ISISspace
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KNMI
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TNO
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VU
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WUR
Our other research themes
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Methane
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Responsible for ¼ of human-made greenhouse effect
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About 30 times more powerful than CO₂ (GWP-100)
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Large emissions from fossil fuel industry, landfills, livestock
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Carbon Monoxide
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Reactions with atmospheric gases contribute to global warming
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Trace gas to calculate CO₂ emissions from forest fires
- One of the most important air pollutants
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Aerosols and Clouds
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Small particles in the atmosphere
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Largest unknown factor in climate change
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Strong impact on air quality
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