Global Gridded Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions 1950-1995
Updated 1mo ago
10filesPDF
Available on 2 platforms
Sign in to view source links and access this dataset
Description
Global decadal estimates of fossil-fuel CO2 emissions for 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 1995. The dataset provides gridded emissions at a 1.0-degree spatial resolution, expressed in 1,000 metric tons of carbon per year, and includes contributions from fossil-fuel burning, cement production, and gas flaring. It was compiled by researchers at ORNL/CDIAC using national estimates and population distribution proxies.
Use Cases
Validating and initializing global atmospheric transport models using gridded emission source data.
Analyzing historical trends in national and regional contributions to atmospheric CO2 from fossil fuels.
Studying the spatial correlation between human population density and carbon emission intensity.
Assessing the relative impact of industrial processes like cement production and gas flaring on total emissions.
Strengths
Provides a consistent 1.0-degree gridded spatial structure for six decadal time points from 1950 to 1995.
Emissions are disaggregated into three source categories: fossil-fuel burning, cement production, and gas flaring.
Data is hosted on multiple authoritative platforms (NASA Earthdata, Data.gov), indicating established scientific use.
Limitations
Sources conflict on the last updated date, with one listing 1995-12-31 and others listing 2026-03-13 (likely a metadata refresh).
The methodology for gridding emissions changed between the 1950-1990 period and 1995, potentially affecting temporal consistency.
Specific column names and the total row/observation count are not provided in the available metadata.
Provenance
Source
ORNL/CDIAC (Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center), based on work by Boden et al. (1996), Andres et al. (1996), and Li (1996).
Collection Method
National annual estimates were allocated to 1-degree grid cells using gridded political boundaries and human population distribution maps as a proxy.
Time Range
1950 to 1995
Freshness
2026-03-13 01:24:54.845570
Geography
Global coverage at 1.0-degree latitude by 1.0-degree longitude resolution.
License is specified as 'other-license-specified'; users must check the specific terms on the hosting platforms. The 1995 data uses a different population proxy database than the earlier decades.