Space

Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite GOSAT "IBUKI"

NIES, Japan

Launch of Ibuki (January 2009)GOSAT continues observing CO2 concentrations from spaceSky

Measuring Greenhouse Gases by Commercial Airlines（Contrail Project）and Aircraft Monitoring over Siberia

http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/portal/?lang=eng

Global Environmental Monitoring by CGER, NIES
Center for Global Environmental Research
Monitoring of Global Warming Effects on Marine Environment and Alpine Zone

http://www.gosat-2.nies.go.jp
Mt.Tateyama

Coral reef in Tatsukushi, Kochi

Land Surface

Ground-based GHG Monitoring

Tokyo Sky Tree

https://www.facebook.com/NIESCGERJAPANCape Ochiishi, Hokkaido

Top of Mt. Fuji

CO2 Flux in Forests

Hateruma Island, Okinawa

Ocean

Terrestrial CO2 Flux Monitoring

Ship-based GHG Monitoring

National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan

Center for Global Environmental Research
Address: 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, JAPANWeb:
http:// www.cger.nies.go.jp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NIESCGERJAPANE-mail to: www-cger@nies.go.jp

Teshio, Hokkaido

Northern foothills of Mt.Fuji

Trans Future 5 (TOYOFUJI SHIPPINGCo,.LTD.)Low-carbon research program

A global-scale approach aimed at achieving a low-carbon and climate-resilient society

Verifying countermeasure effectiveness2. Flux
evaluation

Carbon cycle
modeling

Integrated scenarios

Project 2
Risk research

Determining andunderstanding ofemissions and cycles
of carbon andother substances

2. Design ofinternational
institutionalarrangements

1. Assessment by
quantitativemodels3. Assessment ofchange and countermeasures

1. 3D observations
GOSAT

Project 3
Policy assessment research

2. Integrated
terrestrial
modeling

1. Climate
projections
and clarifications

Pathways toa low-carbon society

3. Human andsocial aspects

Integration
Research
Program
Low-carbon
and climateresilient
societies onnational andsub-national
scalesIntegration
with otherpolicyobjectives

The need for a low-carbon society

Policy-makers, research community,
international organizations (IPCC etc.), other stakeholders, citizens

Project 1
We are pursuing
explanatory research on
global phenomena
including climate change
feedbacks in order toelucidate the effects ofglobal warming basedon the latest scientificknowledge.
Furthermore, toscientifically assess
mitigation/adaptation
policies and the impactsof anthropogenic
emissions during thenext 20 years with the
2°C reduction target inmind, we develop global
and regional multi-scaleobservational systems of
GHG concentrations
around the world, andassess observations andmodels of flux change
responses taking climatechange impacts into
account.

Study on multi-scale evaluation system for GHG variationand mitigation
Sub-theme 1:
Evaluation of GHG budgets at different
spatial scales from global to local

Sub-theme 2:
Estimates for the oceanic and terrestrial GHG
budgets andtheir upscaling

Reykjavík
Moscow

LondonParis
Rome

Vancouver
IncheonDelhi

Bangkok

BostonSan Francisco
San Diego
Honolulu

Djibouti

MexicoGuamSingapore
EntebbeOceanic flux
Terrestrial flux
Global scale up
Verification of processmodels with observed data

Jakarta
Denpasar
BrisbaneSydneyDevelopment of a co-operative network
Development of a multi-scale top-down model
Application at urban and forest levels

GlobalLocal

Impactassessmentwith process models

Land use,ecosystem, cities

Assessment of land-use policies
Assessment of urban mitigation policies
Assessment of ecosystem impacts
Assessment of observation systems

Sub-theme 3:
Assessments of climate change
impacts and climate mitigation
policies

1

In this project, wecreate acomprehensive system
of model research that
better connects global
climate projections(earth system models),
human and terrestrial
impact projections(integrated models ofland use, water
resources andecosystems) andsocio-economic
scenarios and policy
assessment (integrated
assessment models).
Based on this, we
propose integrated
climate risk scenariosthat take into accountthe interrelationshipbetween natural andhuman/social systems
including the effects ofcountermeasures.

Project 3
We develop policy
roadmaps and pathways toachieve the 2°C and 1.5°C
targets of the Paris
Agreement, and analyze
their implementation
toward a low-carbon
society. For those purposes,
we improve the global
integrated assessment
models, and based on the
improved models, we assessclimate mitigation policies
and provide our results tointernational research
projects.
In addition, we design
policies and international
institutions towards climate
stabilization.
By providing knowledge
and information obtained
through our research tovarious stakeholders, we
contribute to theestablishment of alow-carbon society.

Research on global climate risks based on integrated assessmentsof climate projections, impacts and policies

Sub-theme 1:
Projection andinterpretation ofclimate change

Uncertainty ofclimate sensitivity

Sub-theme 3:
Assessment of climate impacts,
adaptation, and mitigationfrom the human and social perspectives
No-mitigation scenario

Sharing of
impactassessment
techniques andscenarios

Global warming
impacts withno mitigation

Climate stabilization
scenario

Mitigation costs
Secondary effects
of climate policies
Climate impacts after mitigation

Long-term
adaptationand mitigation
scenarios

Sub-theme 2:
Synthetic assessmentof low-carbon scenarios based on
an integrated terrestrial model
Carbon balance
Project 1
Observational
data

Meteorology

Ecosystem

Water resources

Comprehensive
climate risk
information

Carbon cycle

Model integration
Analysis of reciprocal
impacts

Crops growthLand use

Information sharing

Policy-makers, research community,

Earth systems modelinternational organizations(IPCC etc.), other stakeholders

Modeling community

Project 3
Quantitative andqualitative
assessmentsof low-carbon
societies

Sustainable
society scenarios

Provision of climate risk information

City
model

National
model

World
model

Integration research program

Roadmap development and its empirical research towards the achievementof a global low-carbon society
Kyoto Gas emissions [GtCO2eq]

Project 1
Observation
research

Project 2

NIES´s 4th five-year Plan

In order to help achieve the internationally shared long-term vision, the so called 2°C reduction target, or at least
the 1.5°C reduction commitment, we quantify in this research program GHG emission routes using scientificmethods, and provide information which are necessary for preparing climate policies, such as global mitigation andadaptation policies, aiming at long-term reduction of GHG emissions.
By these activities we contribute to the implementation of a low-carbon society.

10080

Global GHG emissionpathway in BaU

Sub-theme 1:

Assessment by using
quantitative global
integrated assessment
model (AIM)

60
40
20
0
-20
2000

Global GHG emission
pathway to achieve 2ºC target
2020

2040

2060

2080

2100

2100

Realizing 0 or negative global
GHG net emissions
Global GHG emission pathway toachieve 2ºC target

2050

80% GHG reduction in Japan

2030

26% GHG reduction in Japan(from 2013 level)

2020

Long-term low carbon development strategy

2018

Talanoa Dialogue
IPCC SR on 1.5 degree target

2016

Paris Agreement entered into force

2015

COP21, Adoption of Paris Agreement

2

Global scenarios/roadmaps
towards 2°C target and 1.5°C target

Sub-theme 2:

Research on international
institution design

Researches on Asia, countries including
Japan and sub-national area toward
low-carbon society are implemented
in Integration Research Program

Global environmental monitoring
CGER conducts not only ground-based monitoring, but also uses ships and aircraft to monitor the atmosphere andocean, forest ecosystems and carbon balance, thus collecting a large variety of data. Through this activity, CGER
greatly contributes to the elucidation of the factors that influence global environmental change.

Sky

Space
Satellite monitoring
GOSAT is a satellite which measures the concentrations of greenhouse gases from space at 666 km above Earthsurface. Operating for more than 9 years after its successful launch with the collaboration of partner organizations,GOSAT measures the distribution of GHG concentrations as well as the regional emissions and absorptions ofcarbon dioxide and methane. Its successor, GOSAT-2, is planned to be launched in FY 2018.

Aircraft monitoring of greenhouse gases over Siberia
In order to clarify the role that the vast terrestrial ecosystem in Siberia plays in the global carbon cycle, wemonitor the vertical profiles and temporal variations of greenhouse gases using aircraft (3 sites) and monitoring
towers (6 sites).

Satellite
Aircraft monitoringof greenhousegases over Siberia

Observation tower measuring GHG concentrations in the Siberian taiga
90N

410

60N

405

30N

Whole atmosphere monthly
mean CO2 concentrations
Trend of CO2 concentrations

400

EQ

395

30S

In our laboratory at NIES, we carry out
high-precision measurements of GHG concentrations
in air samples collected from various sites in Siberia

We observe CO2 concentrations in the upper air by installing measuring equipment, developed
jointly by our research institute, on board commercial airlines. By using commercial airlines flying
regularly all over the world, we have been able to drastically improve the frequency andgeographical coverage of our observations.

Moscow

Vancouver
IncheonHonolulu

370

Bangkok

380

60E

0

385

390

395

400

120E
405

180
410

(ppmv)

380

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
National Institute for Environmental Studies
Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Whole atmosphere monthly mean CO2 concentrations
and their trend

Monitoring of the ozone layer

MexicoMIROC3.2_chem result 2009/11/16 OOZ

GuamSingapore
Entebbe375

60W

Global distribution of CO2 concentrations near groundsurface (ppm) (April 2015)

Total O3(DU)

Djibouti

BostonSan Francisco
San Diego

120W

Using NIES chemical transport model, we simulate the movement of theozone hole from the Antarctic to South America and the dramatic ozone
depletion as a result.

Reykjavík

Delhi

385

90S
180

CONTRAIL (Comprehensive Observation Network
for Trace Gases by Airliner) project

London
Paris
Rome

390

60S

Maintenance of the tower observation system in Siberia

Jakarta
Denpasar
BrisbaneSydneyObservation
Modeling

400

350
MIROC3.2_chem result 2009/11/20 OOZMIROC3.2_chem result 2009/09/26 OOZ

Observation routes

300

250
MIROC3.2_chem result 2009/10/04 OOZ

MIROC3.2_chem result 2009/11/24 OOZSeptemberImage of aircraft carrying our observation equipment (by curtesy of Japan Airlines)

3

Sampling air by MSE (Manual Sampling Equipment) in the
cockpit (by curtesy of Japan Airlines. Picture taken after fullconfirmation of flight safety.)

Total ozone distribution
in the Southern Hemisphere

October

September, October:
The edge of elongated polar
vortex temporarily passed
over the southern tip of
the South American continent

November

DecemberNovember:Polar vortex migration
towards the South American
continent and its weakening

Total ozone distribution
in the Southern Hemisphere

4

Validation of GHG observations by satellite areconducted using ground-based Fourier Transform
infrared Spectrometers (FTS)(photo:Rikubetsu Stratospheric General Observatory)

Land Surface
Carbon balance monitoring in forest ecosystems

Monitoring of climate change impacts on the Alpine zone

We conduct monitoring of CO2 and other greenhouse gas fluxes in forest ecosystems at the Teshio, Tomakomai,
Shirakami and Fuji Hokuroku monitoring sites. We also monitor the carbon cycle process in forest ecosystems bymeans of various direct and indirect observation methods. Furthermore, by standardizing observation methods andfacilitating data distribution, we contribute to the strengthening of the Asian monitoring network.

We monitor and assess how climate change affects the seasonalchange and the spatial distribution of alpine flora using
automatic time-lapse cameras placed in alpine areas and aerial
pictures.
We also devise methods to enable the public to access these
up-to-date pictures on our website by smart phones and tablets
in order to raise public awareness.

Assessing flora at Mt. Asama (Nagano Pref.)Alpine monitoring mobile site

Alpine zone
Installing an automated chamber system to measure soil respiration in
Teshio, Hokkaido

ForestMeasuring CO2 emission from soil (soil respiration)in Shirakami, Aomori

Time-lapse camera monitoring Mt. Yarigatake installed
at Hyutte Nishidake, Japanese Northern Alps

Ground-based monitoring

Ground-based monitoring

To assess the effects of climate change and land
use change on carbon cycle of tropical ecosystems
in Southeast Asia, we conduct long-termmonitoring of tree census and soil respiration in
the lowland tropical forest of Pasoh Forest
Reserve. We also measure the vertical CO2
concentration profiles to clarify the strength of
CO2 uptake in the tropical region.

Atmospheric CO2 concentrations used to be 280ppm for more than 10.000 years in the past,
but since the second half of the 18th century, CO2 concentrations have increased dramatically,
and they have now exceeded 400ppm. At CGER, we conduct monitoring of theconcentrations of greenhouse gases such as CO2 at Cape Ochiishi, Hokkaido and Hateruma
Island, Okinawa, analyze the variations in GHG concentrations, and provide monitoring dataon our website.

Mt. Fuji (3776 m)

420

On the top of Mt. Fuji, we are conducting continuous monitoring of
background CO2 concentrations in the East Asian region where dataon CO2 concentrations have, up to now, not been available．

Cape Ochiishi

410
Carbon dioxide concentration(ppm)

Pasoh tropical forest (Malaysia)

Mt. FujiHateruma

400

Carrying continuous CO2 measuring equipment
to be installed in tropical rain forests

390

380
Cape Ochiishi
370

360

Mt. Fuji

350
Hateruma
340

5

15
20

Annual variation in CO2 concentrations

10
20

05
20

00
20

Monitoring station, Cape Ochiishi

95
19

Maintenance of the monitoring tower,
Hateruma

Special regional climate monitoring station on the top of Mt. Fuji

Measuring site for soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes in Malaysia

6OceanShip-based monitoring

Monitoring of global warming effects on coral

For future projections of climate change, it is important to monitor and clarify the sea-air CO2 flux distribution of
the ocean. Through monitoring of the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in the sea surface water on the North Pacificand Japan-Oceania routes, we clarify the distribution and long-term variation of pCO2 between the ocean and theatmosphere. Parallelly, we also carry out atmospheric observations of the longitudinal distributions and temporalvariations of GHGs and related species. In addition, on the Asian route, we investigate the distribution andtemporal variation of atmospheric tracer gas emissions from Asian countries.

Through long-term monitoring of the changes in the
distribution of coral species around Japan, which is thenorthern limit of coral distribution, and the genetic
change of their symbiotic microalgae zooxanthellae, we
assess the impacts of rising water temperature, caused
by global warming, on marine life.

Ship

Coral
Measuring the distribution of reef coral

Marine ecosystems and climate change

Ship
Ship

M/S Trans Future 5 (Toyofuji Shipping Co., Ltd.)

Observation routes

Technician filtering sea water onboard M/S Trans Future 5

7

The amount of organic compounds produced from phytoplankton in the seawater isextremely small, but they play an important role in the biochemical system of the ocean,and because they are emitted into the atmosphere, they also affect Earth’s climate.
Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is one such compound. Once DMS is emitted into theatmosphere, it is oxidized to sulfur dioxide, sulfuric acid, and sulfate aerosols byphotochemical reactions. These acidic compounds influence atmospheric chemistry, andcontribute to the formation of cloud condensation nuclei. In recent years, we have beenable to conduct continuous field observations of organic compounds dissolved in theseawater, thus getting a clearer picture of the impacts of marine ecosystems on theatmosphere and climate.

Our researcher analyzing the organic compounds on board the research vessel(courtesy of ABC)

Sampling sea water on board the research vessel8Outline
The Center for Global Environmental Research (CGER) was established in 1990 as the focal point of environmental
research in Japan, with the aim to scientifically clarify the impact humankind has on the global environment, and tobuild the foundation for accurate environmental protection measures. CGER is the center for climate change
research at the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES).
Furthermore, CGER promotes research on low-carbon societies and supports global environmental research bydeveloping environmental monitoring databases, making available its supercomputer, and arranging dataprocessing and analysis environments.

NIES supercomputer system
We operate a supercomputer system in cooperation
with the Environmental Information Division at NIES
to perform large-scale model calculations to predict
global environmental changes such as climate change,
and make the computer system available for use by
researchers both within and outside NIES.

***< Stability diagnosis where EIS can be defined >&Global Atmospheric Chemistry Section

Deputy Manager

Satellite Remote Sensing Section

Observation Management Group I

&
&
&
&
&
&
&

Biogeochemical Cycle Modeling and Analysis Section
3500

Observation Management Group II

Climate Modeling and Analysis Section

Information and Public Relations Group

Climate Risk Assessment Section

&
&
&
&

3600

&

Support Group

Office for Atmospheric and Oceanic Monitoring

Temperature increase due to soil drying

IF ( GDLCTKE( IJ ) .GT. TKEMIN .AND.
GDXXX ( IJ ) .GT. AFUMIN) THENGDMSU( IJ ) = GDIVR( IJ )* SQRT( KFP * GDLCTKE( IJ )/ PI / 2.D0 )* EXP( −GDCIN( IJ ) / KFP / GDLCTKE( IJ ) )GDMSU( IJ ) = GDMSU( IJ ) * GDAFU( IJ ) / GDXXX( IJ )ELSEGDMSU( IJ ) = 0.D0
ENDIF

&
&

Deputy Director

Temperature increase in Japan follows the global mean:
increase in hot summer days

< Updraft mass flux at the inversion >&Global Carbon Cycle Research Section

Temperature increase due to snow and ice melting

GDXXX( IJ ) = 0.5D0 * ERFC( GDXXX( IJ ) )GDAFU( IJ ) = MIN( GDXXX( IJ ), AFUMAX )GDAFC( IJ ) = AFCMU * GDAFU( IJ )ELSEGDAFU( IJ ) = 0.D0
ENDIF

*
*
*

Director

Temperature increase is larger on land than at sea

IF ( GDP( IJ,1 ) .GT. 85000.D0 .AND.
GRIDX( IJ ) .LT. 0.5D0 ) THEN!! T850 can be defined!! over the ocean

DO K = 1, KMAX−1
IDXD = ( GDP( IJ,K ) − 70000.D0 )* ( 70000.D0 − GDP( IJ,K+1 ) )IF ( IDXD .GE. 0.D0 ) THEN
TH700( IJ ) = ( ( THETA( IJ,K ) − THETA( IJ,K+1 ) )* ( 70000.D0 − GDP( IJ,K+1 ) )/ ( GDP( IJ,K ) − GDP( IJ,K+1 ) ) )+ THETA( IJ,K+1 )Z700( IJ ) = ( ( GDZ( IJ,K ) − GDZ( IJ,K+1 ) )* ( 70000.D0 − GDP( IJ,K+1 ) )/ ( GDP( IJ,K ) − GDP( IJ,K+1 ) ) )+ GDZ( IJ,K+1 )GOTO 3500
ENDIF
ENDDO
CONTINUE
DO K = 1, KMAX−1
IDXD = ( GDP( IJ,K ) − 85000.D0 )* ( 85000.D0 − GDP( IJ,K+1 ) )IF ( IDXD .GE. 0.D0 ) THEN
T850( IJ ) = ( ( GDT( IJ,K ) − GDT( IJ,K+1 ) )* ( 85000.D0 − GDP( IJ,K+1 ) )/ ( GDP( IJ,K ) − GDP( IJ,K+1 ) ) )+ GDT( IJ,K+1 )GOTO 3600
ENDIF
ENDDO
CONTINUEQSL = FQSAT( T850( IJ ), 85000.D0 )GAMS = 1.D0 + ( EL*QSL/( RAIR*T850( IJ ) ) )GAMS = GAMS /( 1.D0 + ( EL*EL*QSL/(CP*RVAP*T850( IJ )*T850( IJ )) ) )GAMD = GRAV / CPSupercomputer NEC SX-ACE, in operation
since June 2015

Temperature change at 2 m above ground
Example of Supercomputer output: RCP8.5 (“Business-as-usual”) scenario

Office for Terrestrial Monitoring
Office for Global Environmental Data Integration and Analytics
Concurrent members

Collaborative Research Group on Data-Model Fusion Planning
Collaborative Research Group on Emission Inventory
Global Carbon Project (GCP) Tsukuba International Office
Greenhouse Gas Inventory Office (GIO) of Japan
Satellite Observation Center

Global Environmental Database
CGER develops and maintains the Global
Environmental Database(GED) , in which various
information on the global environment is collected,
processed and archived. GED provides a unified
search system, a quick data visualization tool anddata analysis tools to provide easy-to-use data to
researchers as well as to the general public.

Related research project collaboration division
Global Environmental Database (GED) http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/portal/•Climate Change Strategy Collaboration Office/Office for Coordination of Climate Change Observation (OCCCO)•Social Dialogue and Co-production Office

Dissemination of research results
Through its website, research reports and other publications, and by organizing events such as Open House andseminars, CGER facilitates the efficient dissemination of research results, promotes collaboration among
environmental researchers, and contributes to raising awareness about environmental issues among the public.

Affiliated offices
Greenhouse Gas Inventory Office of Japan (GIO)
GIO engages in the preparation of Japan’s national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, as
well as assists developing countries in Asia primarily by capacity building activities and byimproving their national GHG inventories.

Global Carbon Project (GCP) Tsukuba International Office
The GCP is engaged in developing an international research network and program oncarbon cycle research and carbon management. http://www.cger.nies.go.jp/gcp/
9

Research collaboration talk event at NIES Summer Open House 2017

CGER News (published monthly) http://www.cger.nies.go.jp/cgernews
and environmental flip-manga

10