The NOAA Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory has measured atmospheric CO2 mixing ratios in weekly air samples from a global network since the late 1960s. Measurements are made using nondispersive infrared absorption and are traceable to the World Meteorological Organization mole fraction scale. This data is described as the most geographically extensive and internally consistent atmospheric CO2 dataset available.
Use Cases
- Modeling global carbon cycle budgets based on calibrated atmospheric CO2 measurements.
- Analyzing long-term trends in atmospheric greenhouse gases based on weekly sampling since the late 1960s.
- Studying geographic variations in CO2 concentrations based on data from a global network of sites.
- Calibrating other atmospheric models based on measurements traceable to the WMO standard.
Strengths
- Weekly sampling provides high temporal resolution.
- Measurements are traceable to the World Meteorological Organization CO2 mole fraction scale, ensuring calibration.
- Data collection spans from the late 1960s, offering a long historical record.
- Samples are collected from a global network of sites, providing geographic breadth.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
Provenance
- Source
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory
- Collection Method
- Nondispersive infrared absorption technique applied to air samples collected in glass flasks.
- Time Range
- Since the late 1960s
- Geography
- Global network of sites