Over the last decade, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography program has coexisted peacefully alongside a much larger effort by NOAA. Having two programs is arguably very important for long-term continuity. As Charles David Keeling states: "There was no guarantee that NOAA’s program might not have problems in the future. The CO₂ measurements, he argued, were important enough that at one spot on the Earth, two parallel sets of measurements were justified." 

From Charles David Keeling's perspective, the desire to continue the Scripps Institution of Oceanography program was motivated by his desire to expand his understanding of the earth. Using the Scripps Institution of Oceanography record, he continued to publish ground breaking papers through the 1980s and 1990s, including a study showing that a larger than expected sink for CO₂ existed in the extra-tropical northern hemisphere, and a study showing that the growing season had lengthened in the northern hemisphere (Keeling et. al. 1995 Nature Vol. 375 and Keeling et. al. 1996 Nature Vol. 382). Having access to and a deep understanding of the longest records was a key factor in these discoveries.

What lessons can be drawn from Charles David Keeling's experiences

(1) Many observations, now considered vital to the study of the earth and being carried out over a long time frame, were begun in a university setting. The Mauna Loa record is probably the most outstanding example of this. Another example is the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem study, an early prototype for a long-term ecological research site.

(2) A university setting does have advantages for this kind of work, by providing a home for improvements of technology, the training of students, and advancing and disseminating the science.  In the case of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography CO₂ program, specific advantages can be cited. With its modest scope, the program can afford to maintain an emphasis on producing the highest quality long-term time series, as well as to allow for continued technological improvements that advance the state of the art in the measurement of atmospheric CO₂ and related tracers. The program also provides key linkages between atmospheric and oceanic carbon measurements, between observations and models, and provides the world a center for training experts.