Earth station: Mauna Loa mountain top

The graph below displays a 44 year measurement of carbon dioxide.

The amount of carbon dioxide underwent a 60 percent increase in forty-eight years over the base year of 1958, but recently the rise is accelerating.

1.36% average yearly increase over four decades.

earth change monitoring | long term monitoring | close to home

Charles David Keeling, noted JIMO researcher, was awarded the National Medal of Science in a White House presentation on 13 June 2002 for his lifetime achievement in scientific research. His significant studies of the carbon cycle and the increase of atmospheric CO2, have been a pivotal marker in the study of global climate change. Keeling's scientific contributions have affected the scientific, economic and social challenges which confront us today and well into the future.

Keeling was the first to model the accumulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The "Keeling curve" (Figure) encapsulates 45 years of time of series measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide taken atop Mauna Loa, Hawaii. His data confirmed that the increased accumulation of carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels and other industrial products, contributed to the greenhouse effect. Under Keeling's current JIMO research, which is a continuum of his lifetime study of the global carbon cycle, he is developing measurement techniques in analyzing Ar/N2 ratios.

The "Keeling Curve" confirms a steady increase in carbon dioxide levels contributing to the greenhouse effect. Critics charge that such a relation between carbon and temperature is inverted, that is carbon increase is lagging indicator and not a leading indicator of warmer temperatures. By that the climate skeptics argue that rising temperatures lead to higher carbon dioxide and water vapor levels. Instead of carbon dioxide triggering a rise in temperatures, these skeptics argue that the build-up of carbon dioxide is due to temperature rising.

Besides his interests in atmospheric chemistry and geochemistry, his comprehensive study of the effects of tidal mixing on climate change spans a 1,000-year period. According to Keeling, strong oceanic tides are the engines behind the warming-cooling cycle that may help determine future climate change.

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Keeling received his B. A. degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1948 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Northwestern University in 1954. Keeling joined the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1956. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences.

• Prairie types in North America as an example of anticipated responses due to loss of soil moisture, irregular precipitation and temperature changes.
• The Vostock ice cores have been analyzed for atmospheric CO2 content over the last 1000 years. They show fairly steady CO2 levels until the time of large-scale industrialization. The dashed portion of the curve is the Keeling curve from above.

Links

http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/earth/html/md-climate.html

Hadley Centre, U. K.

Earth observatory from NASA