Data and Information Products
New Products
CDIAC's data and information holdings provide coverage in a number of areas relevant to the
greenhouse effect and global climate change. Data available from CDIAC that have been
thoroughly checked and documented are released by CDIAC as numeric data packages (NDPs) or
computer model packages (CMPs). CDIAC also offers database products that do not include the
extensive documentation of the NDPs in order to make the data available more quickly. The data
and documentation text may be accessed and downloaded from CDIAC's Web site
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/), from CDIAC's anonymous FTP area (cdiac.esd.ornl.gov), or
requested directly from CDIAC on a variety of media (e.g., CD ROM, 8 mm tape, floppy
diskette). Printed reports and information may also be requested from CDIAC. Technical
questions (e.g., methodology or accuracy) should be directed to the CDIAC staff member
responsible for preparing the data.
Atmospheric Trace Gases
Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites (MAPS) 1994 Correlative Atmospheric Carbon
Monoxide Mixing Ratios (DB1020) by Paul Novelli, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory (CMDL), and Ken Masarie,
University of Colorado, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
(CIRES). These data were prepared for online distribution by CDIAC's Linda Allison and
Tom Boden. The MAPS correlative data set (CO mixing ratios from eleven fields and aircraft
measurement programs around the world) was compiled to permit a validation of
measurements taken from the space shuttle Endeavour. The data show the regional importance
of fossil-fuel burning and biomass burning as CO sources.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/epubs/db/db1020/db1020.html)
Measurements of Atmospheric Methane and 13C/12C of Atmospheric Methane from Flask Air
Samples by Paul Quay and Johnny Stutsman, University of Washington, and prepared for
online distribution by CDIAC's Tom Boden. This database offers precise measurements of
atmospheric methane, and its 13C/12C isotopic ratio, from flask air samples collected at eight
sites worldwide and aboard NOAA cruises in the Pacific Ocean. The eight sites include
Olympic Peninsula, Washington; Cape Grim, Tasmania; Fraserdale, Ontario; Marshall Islands;
Baring Head, New Zealand; Mauna Loa, Hawaii; Point Barrow, Alaska; and American Samoa.
The measurements span the period 1988 to mid-1996. These data are useful for global
methane budget analyses and for determining the atmospheric isotopic composition of
methane. All isotopic measurements have been corrected for standard drift.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/ndps/quay.html)
Climate
Extended Edited Synoptic Cloud Reports from Ships and Land Stations Over the Globe,
1952-1996 (ORNL/CDIAC-123, NDP-026C) by Carol Hahn, University of Arizona, and
Stephen Warren, University of Washington, and prepared by CDIAC's Dale Kaiser. This NDP
contains surface synoptic weather reports for the entire globe, gathered from various available
data sets. In addition to the cloud portion of the synoptic report, each edited report also
includes the associated pressure, present weather, wind, air temperature, and dew point (and
sea surface temperature over oceans). This database contains 71 million cloud observations
from ships and 311 million observations from land stations. This data set will be useful for
such applications as: (1) development of user-defined cloud climatologies for particular
subtypes of clouds or for different temporal and spatial resolutions than Hahn and Warren have
chosen in their published cloud atlases; (2) in comparison of satellite cloud retrievals with
surface observations to help diagnose difficulties in cloud identification from satellite; and (3)
to relate formation of individual types of clouds to their meteorological environments.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/epubs/ndp/ndp026c/ndp026c.html)
United States Historical Climatology Network Daily Temperature, Precipitation, and Snow
Data for 1871-1997 (ORNL/CDIAC-118, NDP-070) by David Easterling, Thomas Karl, Jay
Lawrimore, and Stephen Del Greco, National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and prepared by
CDIAC's Dale Kaiser and Linda Allison. This NDP contains daily observations of maximum
and minimum temperature, precipitation amount, snowfall amount, and snow depth from 1062
observing stations across the contiguous United States. Data from 1050 of the NDP-070 daily
records extend into the 1990s, while 990 of these extend through 1997. This NDP is an
expansion and update of the original 138-station database (funded in part by DOE) previously
released by CDIAC as NDP-042 in 1992. Studies using daily data may be able to detect
changes in regional climate that would not be apparent from analysis of monthly temperature
and precipitation data, such as analyses of trends in maximum and minimum temperatures,
temperature extremes, daily temperature range, precipitation "event size" frequency, and the
magnitude and duration of wet and dry periods. The data are also valuable in such areas as
climate model validation and climate change impact assessment.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/epubs/ndp/ndp070/ndp070.html)
Carbon Cycle¾Oceans
Carbon Dioxide, Hydrographic, and Chemical Data Obtained During the R/V Meteor Cruise
22/5 in the South Atlantic Ocean (WOCE Section A10, December 1992-January 1993
(ORNL/CDIAC-113, NDP-066) by Kenneth Johnson and Douglas Wallace, Brookhaven
National Laboratory (BNL); Bernd Schneider, Baltic Sea Research Institute [Institut für
Ostseeforschung (IOW), Rostock- Warnemünde, Germany]; and Ludger Mintrop, Institute for
Marine Sciences (IfMK, Kiel, Germany) and prepared by CDIAC's Alex Kozyr. This NDP
includes data on total and partial pressure of carbon dioxide; total alkalinity; CFC-11 and
CFC-12; and nutrient, chemical, and physical variables measured during the 1992-1993 South
Atlantic Ocean cruise of the R/V Meteor (between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Capetown,
South Africa). This database contributes to our understanding of the role of the oceans in the
global carbon cycle.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/cdiac/oceans/ndp_066/ndp066.html)
The International Intercomparison Exercise of Underway fCO2 Systems During the R/V
Meteor Cruise 36/1 in the North Atlantic Ocean (ORNL/CDIAC-114, NDP-067) by Arne
Koertzinger, Ludger Mintrop, and Jan C. Duinker, Institute for Marine Sciences (IfMK,) Kiel,
Germany and prepared by CDIAC's Alex Kozyr. This NDP contains measurements of carbon
dioxide in surface seawater that are an important part of studies of the global carbon cycle and
its anthropogenic perturbation. A thorough interpretation of the vast amount of available
ocean fCO2 ("f" refers to fugacity, a measure of concentration) data requires a knowledge of
the comparability of data sets from different laboratories. To provide this information, an
international intercomparison involving nine groups from six countries (Australia, Denmark, Germany,
France, Japan, and the United States) was carried out during the R/V Meteor Cruise 36/1 from
Hamilton, Bermuda, to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain. The results of three of the seven
underway systems agreed to within ±2 atm throughout the cruise, and one system was in
good agreement most of the time, but significant offsets of up to 10 atm occurred in three
systems. These results underline the need to address carefully the important issue of the
inter-laboratory comparability of fCO2 data. (http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/cdiac/oceans/ndp_067/ndp067.html)
Carbon Dioxide, Hydrographic, and Chemical Data Obtained During the R/V Thomas G.
Thompson Cruise in the Pacific Ocean (WOCE Section P10, October 5- November 10, 1993)
(ORNL/CDIAC-122, NDP-071) by Christopher Sabine and Robert Key, Princeton University,
and Melinda Hall, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and prepared by CDIAC's Alex
Kozyr. This NDP discusses the procedures and methods used to measure total carbon dioxide
(TCO2), total alkalinity (TALK), and radiocarbon (14C) at hydrographic stations, as well as
the underway partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2). Conducted as part of the World Ocean
Circulation Experiment (WOCE), the cruise began in Suva, Fiji, and ended in Yokohama,
Japan. Data from this cruise are important for understanding the dynamics of the far western
equatorial Pacific. The results can be used to infer the relative magnitude of various tracers to
the North Pacific from the South China Sea and the Sea of Japan. WOCE Section P10 also
provides a transect across the Kuroshio Current that can be used to better understand the
northward transport of heat, salt, and other important ocean tracers. The underway surface
measurements show a small outgassing of CO2 at the equator.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/cdiac/oceans/ndp_071/ndp071.html)
Vegetation Response to CO2 and Climate
A Database of Woody Vegetation Responses to Elevated Atmospheric CO2
(ORNL/CDIAC-120, NDP-072) by Peter Curtis, Ohio State University, and prepared by
CDIAC's Bob Cushman and Antoinette Brenkert. The NDP updates DB1018 (previously
available from CDIAC). A multiparameter database of responses by woody vegetation to
increased atmospheric CO2 levels was compiled to support a statistically rigorous
meta-analysis of research results across many studies. Data were retrieved from the published
literature and unpublished reports for 84 independent CO2 enrichment studies, covering 65
species and 35 response parameters.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/epubs/ndp/ndp072/ndp072.html)
Updated Products
Atmospheric Trace Gases
The ALE/GAGE/AGAGE Network (DB1001) by Ronald Prinn, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT); Derek Cunnold, Fred Alyea, Ray Wang, and Dana Hartley, Georgia
Institute of Technology; Paul Fraser and L. Paul Steele, Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO); Ray Weiss, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
(SIO); and Peter Simmonds, International Science Consultants; and prepared for online
distribution by CDIAC's Tom Boden. This network provides continuous high-frequency
measurements of methane, nitrous oxide, three chlorofluorocarbons, methyl chloroform,
chloroform, and carbon tetrachloride. This database supports analyses and monitoring related
to both greenhouse gases and the Earth's ozone layer. Data from 1978 through September
1998 are now available for Cape Grim, Tasmania; Point Matatula, American Samoa; Ragged
Point, Barbados; Mace Head, Ireland; and Trinidad Head, California (stations also previously
existed at Cape Meares, Oregon; and Adrigole, Ireland). All ALE and GAGE data have been
recalculated according to the current AGAGE calibration standards, thus creating a unified
ALE/GAGE/AGAGE data set based upon the same standards; and the AGAGE database has
been completely re-computed to introduce a new and improved pollution analysis scheme.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/ndps/alegage.html)
Carbon Cycle¾Emissions
Global, Regional, and National CO2 Emission Estimates from Fossil-Fuel Burning, Cement
Production, and Gas Flaring: 1751-1996 (revised March 1999)(NDP-030) by CDIAC's
Gregg Marland, Tom Boden, and Antoinette Brenkert; Bob Andres, University of Alaska-
Fairbanks; and Cathy Johnston, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. These data quantify
CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel combustion and cement production through 1996, with global
total emissions and some national estimates beginning in 1751. The global total emissions rose
from 3 million metric tons C in 1751 to 6518 million metric tons C in 1996; the United States
accounted for 22% of the 1996 global total.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/ndps/ndp030.html)
Trends Online
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
Atmospheric CO2 Records from Sites in the SIO Air Sampling Network
Ambient atmospheric CO2 data through 1998 from Mauna Loa, Hawaii (as well as Barrow,
Alaska; Cape Matatula, Samoa; and the South Pole) were contributed by Dave Keeling and
Tim Whorf, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), and prepared by CDIAC's Tom
Boden and Dana Griffith. The Mauna Loa atmospheric CO2 measurements constitute the
longest continuous record of atmospheric CO2 concentrations available in the world. The
Mauna Loa
site is considered one of the most favorable locations for measuring
undisturbed
air because possible local influences of vegetation or human activities
on
atmospheric CO2 concentrations are minimal and any influences from
volcanic vents can be excluded from the records. The methods and equipment used to obtain
these measurements have remained essentially unchanged during the 40-year monitoring
program. The Mauna Loa record shows a 16.1% increase in the mean annual concentration,
from 315.83 parts per million by volume (ppmv) of dry air in 1959 to 366.70 ppmv in 1998.
The 1997-1998 increase in the annual growth rate of 2.9 ppmv represents the largest single
yearly jump since the Mauna Loa record began in 1958.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/sio-keel.htm)
Historical Carbon Dioxide Record from the Vostok Ice Core
Records of CO2 derived from the Vostok (East Antarctica) ice core now include data
extending back to 414,085 years before present. The data were contributed by J. M. Barnola,
D. Raynaud, and C. Lorius, Laboratoire de Glaciologie et de Géophysique de
l'Environnement, Saint Martin d'Heres Cedex, France, and N. I. Barkov, Arctic and Antarctic
Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia, and prepared by CDIAC's Tom Boden and Dana
Griffith. Ice cores are unique with their entrapped air inclusions enabling direct records of past
changes in atmospheric trace-gas composition. The extension of the Vostok CO2 record shows
that the present-day levels of CO2 are unprecedented during the past 420 kyr.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/co2/vostok.htm)
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Global, Regional, and National Fossil-Fuel CO2 Emissions
These records of global, regional, and national CO2 emission estimates from fossil-fuel
combustion and cement production were updated through 1996. The estimates were
developed by Gregg Marland, Tom Boden, Bob Andres, Antoinette Brenkert, and Cathy
Johnston and were prepared for Trends Online by Boden and Dana Griffith. The Trends
Online format provides a concise summary of the methodology, time-series graphics, and
tabular data in an easily downloadable format. Special listings are also provided for the top 20
emitting countries and for countries ranked by total and per capita emissions.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/emis/em_cont.htm)
Kyoto-Related Fossil-Fuel CO2 Emission Totals (table)
Tom Boden and Gregg Marland have prepared a table that shows emissions of CO2 from
fossil-fuel combustion and cement production in a format that is relevant for analyses relating
to the Kyoto Protocol. The table lists emissions for those countries listed in Annex B of the
Kyoto Protocol and for those countries not listed in Annex B (as well as providing lists of the
countries in each category).
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/emis/annex.htm)
Temperature
Global and Hemispheric Temperature Anomalies¾Land and Marine Instrumental Records
These records were updated through 1998 and were contributed by P. D. Jones, T. J. Osborn,
and K. R. Briffa, University of East Anglia (Norwich, United Kingdom) and D. E. Parker,
Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research (Bracknell, UK) and prepared for online
publication by CDIAC's Dale Kaiser. These data were corrected for nonclimatic errors, such
as station shifts and/or instrument changes. The resulting data set has been used extensively in
various Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, and the global-mean
temperature changes evident in the record have been interpreted in terms of anthropogenic
forcing influences and natural variability. Trends in annual mean temperature anomalies for the
globe show relatively stable temperatures from the beginning of the record through about
1910, with relatively rapid and steady warming through the early 1940s, followed by another
period of relatively stable temperatures through the mid-1970s, then another rapid rise similar
to that earlier in the century. The year 1998, like 1997, has seen a new global mean
temperature record set, and the six warmest years of the global record have all occurred since
1990.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/temp/jonescru/jones.html)
Clouds
Trends in Total Cloud Amount Over China
The first data set in this new section is contributed by CDIAC's Dale Kaiser. The cloud data
were extracted from a database of 6-hourly weather observations, covering 196 stations from
1951 through 1994, provided by the National Climate Center of the China Meteorological
Administration to CDIAC through a bilateral research agreement. Station and regional trends
in annual and seasonal mean cloud amount clearly indicate decreasing total cloud amount over
much of China during this period. Increases in cloud amount have been offered as a possible
explanation for increased minimum temperatures in other parts of the world. In China, it seems
that some different mechanism(s) must be considered for understanding the observed increase
in minimum temperatures, perhaps relating to atmospheric circulation or urbanization effects
not fully removed from the temperature record.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/clouds/kaiser/kaiser98.html)
Newsletters, Reports, and Additional Online Publications
Catalog of Databases and Reports (ORNL/CDIAC-34), compiled by Marvel Burtis. The
catalog provides information about the many reports and materials made available by CDIAC.
The catalog indicates the databases and reports that are available in enhanced format (e.g.,
with hyperlinks and graphics) from CDIAC's Web site.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/epubs/catalog/index.htm)
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/epubs/catalog/catalgpdf.pdf)
CDIAC Communications edited by Sonja Jones and Karen Gibson
Issue Number 25, Fall 1998. This issue featured stories on standards for measure-ment of
ocean carbon and Year-of-the-Ocean drifters.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/newsletr/fall98/ccf98.htm)
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/newsletr/fall98/ccf98.pdf)
Issue Number 26, Summer 1999. This issue featured stories on the Throughfall Displacement
Experiment (a large experimental test of climate-change impacts on a forest ecosystem), recent
developments at the NARSTO Quality Systems Science Center, and Mercury (a new data
management tool being developed at ORNL).
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/newsletr/summer99/ccs99.htm)
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/newsletr/summer99/ccs99.pdf)
Fiscal Year 1998 Annual Report (ORNL/CDIAC-116), by CDIAC's Bob Cushman, Tom
Boden, Sonja Jones, Dale Kaiser, and Tommy Nelson and compiled by Marvel Burtis and
prepared for online distribution by Karen Gibson. The report documents highlights from the
1998 fiscal year including new data products and other publications; provides statistics, such
as the number of requests for global-change data and information from CDIAC and of
citations in the published literature of data obtained from CDIAC; alerts users to new data
products that CDIAC hoped to release in FY 1999; lists awards received by CDIAC and
publications and presentations of its staff; and lists the many organizations with which CDIAC
has collaborated to produce the data and information products it released in FY 1998.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/epubs/cdiac/cdiac116/98annual.htm)
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/epubs/cdiac/cdiac116/98annual.pdf)
Selected Translated Abstracts of Chinese-Language Climate Change Publications
(ORNL/CDIAC-117) by Ge Quansheng, Zhang Peiyuan, Liu Xiuping, Zhang Xueqing, Chen
Yuan, Peng Guitang, and Zheng Jingyun, Institute of Geography (IG) of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences and Wei-Chyung Wang of the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC) of
the State University of New York-Albany and compiled by CDIAC's Bob Cushman and
Marvel Burtis, with technical editing by Linda O'Hara. The bibliography includes citations and
abstracts, in both Chinese and English, from Chinese-language literature published in
1995-1998 in the following topical areas: adaptation, ancient climate change, climate
variation, the East Asia monsoon, historical climate change, impacts, modeling, and radiation
and trace-gas emissions.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/epubs/cdiac/cdiac117/cdiac117.html)
The NARSTO Quality Systems Science Center released Revision 2 of the NARSTO Data
Management Handbook (ORNL/CDIAC-112/R2). The revised Handbook, authored by Sig
Christensen, Tom Boden, Les Hook, and Meng-Dawn Cheng, features changes, clarifications,
and details in the description of the NARSTO Data Exchange Standard. A new example
file/template is included for user reference. The changes made requirements more explicit, thus
enabling more reliable automated quality assurance verification of file format and content.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/programs/NARSTO/narsto.html)
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/programs/NARSTO/) PDF file
Current Greenhouse Gas Concentrations, updated by CDIAC's Tom Boden, this online
table offers current levels of carbon dioxide and eleven other greenhouse gases, including data
on pre-industrial (1860) concentrations, present tropospheric concentrations, global warming
potentials, and atmospheric lifetimes. All data are referenced to published sources. This
information should prove a convenient reference for global change studies and for analyses
related to the Kyoto and Montreal protocols.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/pns/current_ghg.html)
A Coastal Hazards Data Base for the U.S. West Coast (ORNL/CDIAC-81, NDP-043C)
CDIAC put online the version of this numeric data package originally published in November
1997. This NDP was contributed by Vivien Gornitz of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space
Studies (GISS), edited by former CDIACers Tammy Beaty and Richard Daniels, and
formatted for online distribution by Karen Gibson. It describes the contents of a digital
database that may be used to identify coastlines along the U.S. West Coast that are at risk to
sea-level rise (and complements earlier data packages covering the East Coast and Gulf
Coast). The data package contains information on elevation, geology, geomorphology, sea-level trends, shoreline displacement (erosion/accretion), tidal ranges, and wave heights, as well
as several algorithms for combining these data to calculate a Coastal Vulnerability Index.
(http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/epubs/ndp/ndp043c/43c.htm)