NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) Mission is providing unprecedented insight into key components of our ocean and atmosphere, systems that impact our everyday lives.
While orbiting Earth, PACE does not operate in a vacuum! Its information will be used in conjunction with data collected by other missions, providing enhanced economic and societal benefits.
PACE and Sea Surface Temperature data will be used to explore correlations that affect biological productivity of fisheries, including coastal upwelling and El Niño.
PACE and Sea Surface Salinity (saltiness) data will be used to track the impacts of rivers flowing into the ocean and the effects of dissolved organic material from land on the health of our coasts.
PACE and Sea Surface Height data – from missions such as SWOT – will be used to investigate the effects of currents and eddies on biological patterns, and the impacts of heat transfer and sea level rise on ocean life.
PACE and Sea Surface Wind data will be used to study the flux of carbon dioxide gas between the ocean and atmosphere.
PACE measurements will be augmented with data from atmosphere-focused sensors to better understand air-sea interactions, including the role of ocean biology in cloud formation.
PACE's data will be merged with other missions' aerosol measurements to examine how these tiny airborne particles might fuel phytoplankton growth in the surface ocean.
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