Changing Atmosphere
The Changing Atmosphere Flagship tracks gases that drive changes in Earth’s atmosphere and supports the transition to a low-carbon emission economy in New Zealand and around the world.
To develop and implement effective mitigation approaches we will observe atmospheric change to enable the calibration and validation of satellite missions, quantify greenhouse gas emissions and uptake from forests and urban environments and track agricultural emissions, support overseas climate mitigation efforts with tools pioneered in New Zealand, and measure air pollutant pathways and ultraviolet radiation to support improvements to human health policy.
Chief Scientist - Changing Atmosphere: Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher
Sara’s research focuses on using greenhouse gas observations from ground-based stations, aircraft, ships and satellites to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and carbon uptake by the land biosphere and oceans. She is interested in using isotopes and other gases to understand processes driving changes in emissions and carbon uptake. Her research informs climate mitigation strategies and provides independent verification of greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand. She and her team support international groups in Europe and Asia to establish capability she pioneered overseas. In addition, Sara is the Science Leader for New Zealand's MethaneSAT Science Project and led the CarbonWatch-NZ Research Programme.