How to Measure the Surface of a Bog

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Scientists have known bog breathing for a really long time, but it's incredibly difficult to measure. Scientists are now using radar from a satellite to send a signal down to the b every few days and get measurements on how that surface level is changing over time. The data could help scientists understand if a peatland is functioning as a healthy peatland or whether it's degraded in some way which might emit carbon.

A few years back, 99pi producer Emmett FitzGerald brought us a beautiful story about peat bogs. Peat is essential for biodiversity and for the climate – it is really, really good at storing carbon. But like a lot of things we cover on the show, peat often goes unnoticed, in part because it is literally out of sight underground. We’ve noticed peat and carbon sequestration more and more in the news lately. Journalists have been brilliantly covering stories about the tree planting movement, private ownership of Scotland’s bogs, and the threat to peat in the Congo Basin. Couple that with more extreme weather happening in more places, we thought it would be a good idea to repeat this story.

For the Love of Peat