What we're doing right

Spying from space

3rd November 2007

A new space satellite will help scientists monitor pollution back on earth

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The confessional model doesn’t do the best job of regulating climate sins. So instead of counting on polluters to report their own emissions, York University’s Brendan Quine has developed a sneaky pollution spy – a tiny gadget that works in space. Called the Argus microspectrometer, it picks up on the chemical signatures of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that cause global warming. It will launch into orbit next month on board a microsatellite test-driving tiny instruments.

Most tools sent into space cost millions and wind up as nothing more than pollution themselves: giant pieces of obsolete trash orbiting the Earth. Argus costs about $75,000 and can fit in the palm of your hand – making it a cost-effective example of “sustainable space instrumentation.”

“In Canada, we are fond of suggesting that pollution that causes reductions in air quality is transported from the United States, but is this actually true? We aim to look at this problem,” Prof. Quine says. Ultimately, Argus will create better models of pollution distribution, as well as develop a monitoring and detection system to track where it comes from.

Published in The Green Report in The Globe and Mail

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• Tags:
• Climate Change
• CO2
• Research

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