Chinese scientists send out special drones in bid to sharpen carbon count from human activities

Researchers combined ground monitoring stations and UAVs in bid to better measure greenhouse gas emissions, paper in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences says

Gaps in tracking emissions from cities, industries and power generation have caused ‘significant uncertainties in global carbon budgets’, team warns

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“Existing and even near-future satellite measurements cannot meet the frequent monitoring requirements for anthropogenic emissions”, lead researcher for recent study says. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 10:00am, 16 Oct 2023Updated: 2:55pm, 16 Oct 2023

A team of Chinese scientists has turned to specialised drones in a drive to better monitor human-led carbon emissions.

The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – first tested in May – could be capable of detecting emission changes with greater accuracy than carbon monitoring satellites, according to the team from China’s premier science academy.

Global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions reached a new high of 36.8 billion tonnes last year, according to the International Energy Agency.

Several countries have launched satellites into space that could keep track of the rise. This includes Nasa’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory, which demonstrated its ability to observe anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases in a study released last year.

But tracking emissions from space has its challenges.

Background uncertainty – including influence of clouds, aerosols and land topography – and wind speed are among factors that can impact accuracy, according to Nasa.

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