Atmospheric CO₂ Data

Scale Update Notice

Primary Mauna Loa CO₂ Record (1958 - present)

Monthly and weekly in-situ CO₂ data sets taken at Mauna Loa, Observatory, Hawaii: Latitude 19.5°N Longitude 155.6°W Elevation 3397m.

Sampling Station Records (1957 - present)

Measurements of atmospheric CO₂ concentration in our program began in 1957 at La Jolla, California and at the South Pole, and in 1958 at Mauna Loa Observatory. These measurements were gradually extended during the 1960's and 1970's to comprise sampling at an array of stations from the Arctic to Antarctica.

The primary (in situ) record from Mauna Loa is based on measurements made with an analyzer at the site. At all other stations, the records are based on flask samples returned to our La Jolla laboratory for analysis. Flasks have also been redundantly collected at Mauna Loa. Isotopic measurements on flask samples of the ¹³C/¹²C and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios of CO₂, which we began in 1978, have gradually been expanded to include all stations where we measure the CO₂ concentration.

Campaign Data

Aircraft Campaign Data (1958 - 1961)

Atmospheric CO₂ concentrations (ppm) derived from flask air samples taken aboard aircraft at 700, 500 and 300 hPa over North Pacific, Alaska, and Arctic Ocean from April 1958 through December 1961, spanning 11° 54'N to 86° 18'N latitude, and 105° 18'W to 166° 12'W longitude.

Ice-Core Merged Products (13.3 CE - present)

Atmospheric CO₂ record based on ice core data before 1958, (Ethridge et. al., 1996; MacFarling Meure et al., 2006) and yearly averages of direct observations from Mauna Loa and the South Pole after and including 1958 (from Scripps CO₂ Program).