Well done to Maggy for her submission showing how physics can help us to understand climate change. Take a look at her cover letter below:
“Climate change is a global problem that can be understood by physics. Using physics, satellites above the Earth’s atmosphere can measure CO2 levels across the globe. The satellite collects data, which is used to create an image that shows the carbon levels on Earth. This helps us understand how carbon levels change over time and where the hotspots are: allowing scientists to make more accurate predictions of future CO2 levels, possibly leading to climate action happening in the places that need it – the areas of high carbon density. My picture depicts a carbon monitoring satellite, NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2. And below it is my version of the Earth as in the carbon data images that the satellite creates, the red for the areas of high carbon density and the green for areas of low carbon density. Observation satellites interest me as physics is involved in many aspects of the satellites, from gravity governing the motion of them to the computers receiving the carbon images of Earth. Physics can help us learn more about climate change and solve the problems created by it.“