Atmospheric CO₂ from Continuous Air Samples at the South Pole

Graphics    Data

C.D. Keeling and T.P. Whorf

Carbon Dioxide Research Group, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, La Jolla, California 92093-0444, U.S.A.

Period of Record

June 1960 - October 1963

Methods

An Applied Physics Corporation (APC) nondispersive infrared gas analyzer was used in the field to obtain atmospheric CO₂ concentrations, based on continuous data for 6-hour steady periods. Weekly averages were calculated from those daily averages meeting the requirement for at least 6 hours of continuous sampling. Data are available from most weeks during the 3-year period of record.

South Pole, Antarctica
Ice- and snow-covered plateau
89°59' S, 24°48' W
2810 m above MSL

Trends

The annual range of about 1.5 ppmv, and an increase of roughly 1 ppmv/year are evident over the period of record. The upward trend is better displayed by SIO's monthly averaged data.

References

• Guenther, P.R., A. Bollenbacher, C.D. Keeling, and D. Moss. 2002 Technical Report: Infrared Analyses of NOAA Primary CO₂-in-Air Reference Gas Standards at SIO, 1991-1999.
• Guenther, P.R., G. Emanuele, and C.D. Keeling. 2002. Alternative Formulation of 1985-1999 Calibrations after Re-calibration of 4cc Chanber Volume of Mercury Manometer. Addendium to: Scripps Reference Gas Calibration System for Carbon-Dioxide-in Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide-in-Air Standards: Revision of 1999, February 2002.
  See Diagram of the constant-volume mercury-column manometer.
• Keeling, C.D., R.B. Bacastow, A.F. Carter, S.C. Piper, T.P. Whorf, M. Heimann, W.G. Mook, and H. Roeloffzen. 1989. A three-dimensional model of atmospheric CO₂ transport based on observed winds: 1. Analysis of observational data. In D.H. Peterson (ed.), Aspects of Climate Variability in the Pacific and the Western Americas, 165-236, Geophysical Monograph 55, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC.
• Keeling, C.D., T.P. Whorf, M. Wahlen & J. van der Plicht. 1995. Interannual extremes in the rate of rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide since 1980, Nature 375, 666-670.
• Keeling, C.D., S.C. Piper, R.B. Bacastow, M. Wahlen, T.P. Whorf, M. Heimann, and H.A. Meijer. 2001. Exchanges of Atmospheric CO₂ and ¹³CO₂ with the Terrestrial Biosphere and Oceans from 1978 to 2000. I. Global Aspects. SIO Reference No. 01-06 (Revised from SIO Reference No. 00-21), June 2001.
• Keeling, C.D., P.R. Guenther, G. Emanuele III, A. Bollenbacher, and D.J. Moss. 2002. Scripps Reference Gas Calibration System for Carbon Dioxide-in-Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide-in-Air Standards: Revision of 1999 (with Appendix and Addendum). SIO Reference Series No. 01-11.
  See Diagram of the constant-volume mercury-column manometer.

10/2004