![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2017\/10\/plesetsk_russia\/17200004-4-eng-GB\/Plesetsk_Russia_small.jpg\")
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\nA lush landscape dominated by boreal forests is pictured in this satellite image over the Plesetsky District of northeast Russia\u2019s Archangel Oblast.\n<\/p>\n
\nClick on the box in the lower-right corner to view this image at its full 10 m resolution directly in your browser.\n<\/p>\n
\nForests play a crucial role in Earth\u2019s carbon cycle by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in biomass. Boreal forests \u2013 including forest soil \u2013 store a third more carbon stocks per hectare as tropical forests, making them one of the most significant carbon sinks in the world.\n<\/p>\n
\nA satellite dedicated to monitoring our atmosphere is poised on top of a Rockot on the launch pad at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, visible in the upper right. The Copernicus satellite, Sentinel-5P, is set for liftoff at 09:27 GMT (11:27 CEST).\n<\/p>\n
\nSentinel-5P carries the state-of-the-art Tropomi instrument to map a multitude of trace gases such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, sulphur dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide and aerosols \u2013 all of which affect the air we breathe and therefore our health, and our climate.\n<\/p>\n