Carbon sequestration has been the subject of several studies over the last few decades, some of which are still ongoing to assess its effectiveness and impact on the reduction of Carbon Dioxide emissions. Today we are going to answer the following questions: **what is Carbon Sequestration? What are the benefits of Carbon Sequestration? How can drones help with Carbon Sequestration?** Keep reading and find out how carbon sequestration and our drones can help you to **#ONEUPYOURBUSINESS**.

## HOW IS CARBON DIOXIDE PRODUCED?

Carbon Dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas released to the atmosphere and is made in two main ways:

  - By animals, which exhale Carbon Dioxide as result of the respiration process
  - By human activities, mainly energy production and driving internal combustion cars

## WHAT IS CARBON SEQUESTRATION?

Carbon Sequestration is a method of reducing the amount of atmospheric Carbon Dioxide by capturing it and storing it.

There are two main types of Carbon Sequestration:

  - Geological
  - Biological

## WHAT IS GEOLOGICAL CARBON SEQUESTRATION?

Geological Carbon Sequestration is a process in which the Carbon Dioxide is separated from other gases that are released to the atmosphere, compressed into a liquid and then injected into porous rock surfaces like sedimentary rocks, the deep ocean or even empty oil reservoirs. 

## WHAT IS BIOLOGICAL CARBON SEQUESTRATION?

Biological Carbon Sequestration is the process of storing atmospheric Carbon Dioxide by promoting vegetation growth.

## HOW ARE CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND ORGANIC FARMING LINK TOGETHER? SOIL ORGANIC MATTER

They key element that links Carbon Sequestration and Organic Farming is **soil organic matter**.

Soil organic matter consists of plants and animal residue that are decomposed by a range of micro-organisms. The impact on soil fertility is crucial, as this decomposition process releases nutrients back into the soil.

There are several ways of increasing soil organic matter:

  - Cultivating perennial crops like grass for pasture or legumes
  - Use of animal manure, crop residues or composts

By promoting the soil’s health, the number of micro-organisms increase, which in turn accelerate the decomposition rate and therefore the number of nutrients released into the soil.

Increasing soil organic matter has a plethora of benefits for organic farming:

  - Healthier crops
  - Higher yields and therefore bigger profits
  - The soil becomes more resistant to erosion
  - Better moisture retention
  - Reduced costs by using less fertiliser
  - Increased Carbon Sequestration

The most conservative calculations estimate that by every 0.1% increase on soil organic matter per hectare there would be almost 9 tonnes of additional sequestered Carbon Dioxide.

## HOW CAN DRONES HELP WITH CARBON SEQUESTRATION?

There are several key metrics to monitor when you are going through Carbon Sequestration:

  - Soil type
  - Soil temperature
  - Soil pH
  - Micro-organism analysis
  - Soil moisture analysis

Our fleet of multi-rotor and fixed-wing drones can accurately assess the progress and effectiveness of your Carbon Sequestration strategy by producing two different types of comprehensive and detailed thermal reports of the soil. 

When you are effectively sequestering Carbon Dioxide, your soil will have a very consistent and uniform temperature across the whole area. This temperature will also be higher than soils that aren’t retaining Carbon Dioxide. 

With the correct Carbon Sequestration strategy the difference between the lowest and highest temperature of your soil will be minimal, and our thermal camera will produce a very uniform image. Take a look at the two images below, the one that contains more blue was taken in a field that did not sequester Carbon Dioxide, whilst the image that is uniform was taken in a field with an effective Carbon Sequestration strategy.

<responsive-image-gallery :images="['/blog/no-carbon-sequestration.jpg', '/blog/carbon-sequestration.jpg']"></responsive-image-gallery>


We explain what is Carbon Sequestration, what are its benefits, how are Carbon Sequestration and Organic Farming linked, and how can drones help.

Carbon Sequestration Explained

Thermal imaging cameras have been around for quite a while, but very few actually get to use them on a daily basis and even fewer people truly understand how they operate. Today we are going to explain what thermal imaging cameras are about, and we are going to answer the following questions: **what is a thermal imaging camera?**, **what are the main features of a thermal imaging camera?** and **what are thermal imaging cameras used for?** Keep reading and find out how using thermal imaging cameras can help you to **#ONEUPYOURBUSINESS**.

## WHAT IS A THERMAL IMAGING CAMERA?

Thermal imaging cameras were developed during the Korean War, and like many other pieces of technology, they soon were used by the civilians for a wide variety of purposes.

The human eye sees a specific portion of the light spectrum. In reality, the amount and type of light our eyes can perceive is quite limited. In order to visualise infrared radiation and the electromagnetic spectrum we have to use dedicated equipment. This is the main use of a thermal imaging camera, which transforms heat into a visible light source that is projected on the different objects’ surfaces.

By displaying the temperature visually, inspectors have a truly powerful tool to assess the different temperature values quickly and efficiently. With a thermal imaging camera you can easily identify heat sources, wet spots, people, animals, etc.

The technical term for a thermal image is *thermogram*, and the process of analysing them is known as *thermography*.

## WHAT ARE THE MAIN FEATURES OF A THERMAL IMAGING CAMERA?

In its most simplistic form, a thermal imaging camera will only measure the temperature in the very centre of the image, but the more advanced units, like the ones that we use, will take differential values from multiple points, giving maximum, minimum, median and range values.

With some of the more advanced units, we can select different colour palettes, overlay the thermal image on top of a normal image or even combine both within the same image. 

For concrete tasks, depending on the camera, we can set the range of temperatures that we know we have to look for, eliminating any possible unused values and focusing on what matters for that specific inspection.

## WHAT ARE THERMAL IMAGING CAMERAS USED FOR?

Besides its original military applications, thermal imaging cameras are used for a wide variety of purposes: search and rescue, crime fighting, building surveys, energy reports, etc.

For the Construction, Property, Insurance, Energy, and Agriculture sectors, the main uses of a thermal imaging camera are:

  - **Wet spot identification**: whether it is a building, a land, a pipe or any kind of infrastructure, thermal imaging will reveal where water might be accumulating or not draining as quickly as it should, so you could take the appropriate measures to prevent any critical damage
  - **Building insulation analysis**: thermal imaging cameras give a detailed insight into the status of a building’s insulation by highlighting the colder spots that should be otherwise much warmer
  - **Mould prevention**: moisture condensation will lead to mould and this could be a difficult problem to solve, especially the dreaded black mould. Thermal imaging cameras give us the ability to assess where moisture is collecting and sorting the issue before it gets much worse
  - **Solar panel evaluation**: with thermal imaging cameras we can quickly evaluate the panels for any damage that would be invisible to the naked eye. Usually, if there is a hot spot, it means that the panel might be damaged around that area, therefore decreasing its efficiency
  - **Wind turbine inspection**: inspecting the wind turbines with thermal imagine cameras can identify areas with higher heat, which could mean that something inside the rotor might break and potentially lead to a catastrophic and life-threatening failure
  - **Ventilation efficiency report**: if a ventilation system is not working properly, it could lead to the premises being too hot or too cold, making the occupants uncomfortable and potentially ill. Using a thermal imaging camera to compare the ambient temperature with the air coming out from the vents you will immediately know the operating status of your units and whether they need maintenance or repairs
  - **Carbon sequestration assessment**: thermal imaging cameras are an essential tool to verify that your carbon sequestration strategy is working as planned. We covered [carbon sequestration](/blog/what-is-carbon-sequestration/ "carbon sequestration") in a previous blog article

Thermal imaging cameras are highly advanced and powerful tools that let us see things invisible to the naked eye, providing detailed inspection reports.

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