Arcturus: Greenhouse Gas Baseline Atmospheric Monitoring Data from Central Queensland

Geoscience Australia and CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research commissioned the Arcturus atmospheric monitoring station in central Queensland in July 2010. The station measures concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, isotopic carbon-13, and meteorological parameters like wind speed and direction. Data from this prototype station is intended to act as a reference for monitoring carbon capture and geological storage projects.

Use Cases

• Establishing a high-quality atmospheric reference baseline for future CCS site monitoring, as mentioned in the description.
• Modeling local variations in CO2 and CH4 using data coupled with CSIRO's TAPM (The Air Pollution Model).
• Analyzing contributions from natural and anthropogenic sources in an area with mixed land use (cropping, grazing, mining).
• Studying the challenges and solutions for operating remote atmospheric monitoring stations in sub-tropical environments.

Strengths

• Data is collected by two wavelength scanned cavity ringdown instruments, suggesting high-precision measurements.
• Station is located in a region with diverse potential emission sources (cropping, grazing, coal mining, gas production), providing a complex test case.
• Meteorological parameters like wind speed and direction are also measured, enabling source attribution modeling.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last updated 2026-06-27 16:52:15.090750; freshness should be verified.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia and CSIRO Marine & Atmospheric Research, via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Measurements from a remotely operated atmospheric monitoring station using cavity ringdown spectroscopy.

Time Range

Commissioned in July 2010; specific data time range is unknown.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 16:52:15.090750

Geography

Central Queensland, Australia, at the 'Arcturus' station site.