New Numeric Data Packages from CDIAC

Edited Synoptic Cloud Reports from Ships and Land Stations over the Globe, 1982^_1991

Carole J. Hahn, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Stephen G. Warren, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Julius London, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado

CDIAC NDP-026B, ORNL/CDIAC-77 (1995)

Surface synoptic weather reports for the entire globe for the 10 years from December 1981 through November 1991 have been processed, edited, and rewritten to provide a data set designed for use in cloud analyses. With this data set, a user can develop a climatology for any particular cloud type or group of types for any geographical region and any spatial and temporal resolution desired.

The information in these reports relating to clouds, including the present-weather information, was extracted and put through a series of quality-control checks. Reports not meeting certain quality control standards were rejected, as were reports from buoys and automatic weather stations. Correctable inconsistencies within reports were edited for consistency, so that the "edited cloud report" can be used for cloud analysis without further quality checking. Cases of "sky obscured" were interpreted by reference to the present weather code as to whether they indicated fog, rain, or snow and were given appropriate cloud-type designations. Nimbostratus clouds, which are not specifically coded for in the standard synoptic code, were also given a special designation. Changes made to an original report are indicated in the edited report so that the original report can be reconstructed if desired. While low cloud amount is normally given directly in the synoptic report, the edited cloud report also includes the amounts, either directly reported or inferred, of middle and high clouds, both the non-overlapped amounts and the "actual" amounts (which may be overlapped). Because illumination from the moon is important for the adequate detection of clouds at night, both the relative lunar illuminance and the solar altitude are given, as well as a parameter that indicates whether the recommended illuminance criterion was satisfied.

This data set contains 124 million reports from land stations and 15 million reports from ships. Each report is 56 characters in length. The archive consists of 240 files, one for each month of data for land and ocean separately. This 8-GB database is available only on 8-mm tapes and via CDIAC's anonymous file transfer protocol (FTP) area via the Internet.

Carbon Dioxide Concentrations in Surface Water and the Atmosphere During 1986^_1989 NOAA/PMEL Cruises in the Pacific and Indian Oceans

P. P. Murphy, K. C. Kelly, and R. A. Feely, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, Washington
R. H. Gammon, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

CDIAC NDP-047, ORNL/CDIAC-75 (1995)

This document presents data on CO₂ concentrations in surface water and the atmosphere collected during Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) expeditions 1986 to 1989. CO₂ was measured quasicontinuously on five PMEL expeditions (12 legs) in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. These cruises were conducted under support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

CO₂ measurements in the atmosphere and in surface waters were made by analyzing mixing ratios of CO₂ with an automated, temperature-controlled gas chromatographic system. Instrument precision was determined by the average percent standard deviation of the standard response over a 6-hour period. The precision varied between cruises but was always less than 1.2% and was more typically around 0.4%. Air was pumped through tubing from the jackstaff on the bow of the ship (10 m above the sea surface) to the oceanographic laboratory for analysis. Surface seawater entered the ship via a forward intake line located approximately 5 m below the water level.

The NDP includes 15 files. The README file provides an overview of the cruise network and describes details on the content and format of the data files; one FORTRAN 77 retrieval code (pmeldat.for) that may be used to read and print any of the data files; and 13 data files, one of which (pmel8689.dat) contains the data from all twelve legs and each of the other 12 contains data for a single leg. Each of the data files contains the same variables: cruise name; date; day of the year; latitude and longitude; cumulative distance since the first sampling location on the leg; sea-surface temperature (° C); warming temperature [indicates the warming (° C) of seawater as it transited from the intake line to the analysis site]; sea-surface salinity; atmospheric pressure; reported atmospheric CO₂ concentration [X(CO₂)_air], which is the mole fraction of the dried air pumped from the bow line; reported surface seawater CO₂ concentration [X(CO₂)_sw], which is the mole fraction of the dried vapor drawn from the equilibrator headspace; the calculated fugacity values for the air [f(CO₂)_air] and seawater [f(CO₂)_sw] given in the data tables are the in situ fugacities, which have been corrected for the warming of the seawater; and data-quality flags.

The data files are available on 9-track magnetic tapes; IBM-formatted floppy diskettes; 8-mm tapes; 150-MB, quarter-inch tape cartridges; and from CDIAC's anonymous file transfer protocol (FTP) area via the Internet. This document also contains an Appendix that reprints NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL PMEL-101 authored by Murphy et al., which contains cruise information, fully describes the sampling methods and instrumentation, and defines the limitations and restrictions of the data.

Carbon-13 Isotopic Abundance and Concentration of Atmospheric Methane for Background Air in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres from 1978 to 1989

C. M. Stevens, Chemical Technology Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois

CDIAC NDP-049, ORNL/CDIAC-80 (1995)

This data package presents atmospheric CH₄ concentration and carbon-13 isotopic abundance data derived from air samples collected from 1978 to 1989 at globally distributed clean-air sites. The data set comprises 201 records, 166 from the Northern Hemisphere and 35 from the Southern Hemisphere. The air samples were collected mostly in rural or marine locations remote from large sources of CH₄ and are considered representative of tropospheric background conditions. The air samples were processed by isolation of CH₄ from air and conversion to CO₂ for isotopic analysis by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. These data represent one of the earliest records of carbon-13 isotopic measurements for atmospheric methane and have been used to refine estimates of CH₄ emissions, calculate annual growth rates of emissions from changing sources, and provide evidence for changes in the rate of atmospheric removal of CH₄. The data records consist of sample collection date; number of samples combined for analysis; sampling location; analysis date; CH₄ concentration; carbon-13 isotopic abundance; and flag codes to indicate outliers, repeated analyses, and other information. The data are contained in one 21.5 kB file and are available on 9-track magnetic tape; IBM-formatted floppy diskettes; 8-mm tapes; 150-MB, quarter-inch tape cartridges; and from CDIAC's anonymous file transfer protocol (FTP) area via the Internet.

Six- and Three-Hourly Meteorological Observations from 223 USSR Stations

V. N. Razuvaev, E. G. Apasova, and R. A. Martuganov, All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information^_World Data Centre (RIHMI^_WDC), Obninsk, Russia

CDIAC NDP-048, ORNL/CDIAC-66 (1995)

This database contains meteorological observations from a 223-station network of the former Soviet Union. These data have been made available through cooperation between the two principal climate data centers of the United States and the former Soviet Union: the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, North Carolina, and the All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information^_World Data Centre (RIHMI^_WDC) in Obninsk, Russia. Station records consist of 6- and 3-hourly observations of some 24 meteorological variables, including relative humidity; water-vapor pressure; dew-point temperature; sea-level and station-level pressure; pressure tendency; visibility; height of cloud base; total cloud amount; low-cloud amount; high-, mid-, and low-level cloud type; wind direction and speed; precipitation amount; near-surface air temperature; soil-surface temperature; ground state; past and present weather; and atmospheric phenomena. The 6-hourly observations extend from 1936 through 1965; the 3-hourly observations extend from 1966 through the mid-1980s (1983, 1984, 1985, or 1986, depending on the station). These data have undergone extensive quality-assurance checks by RIHMI-WDC, NCDC, and CDIAC. The database represents a wealth of meteorological information for a large and climatologically important portion of the Earth's land area, and should prove extremely useful for a wide variety of regional climate-change studies.

The NDP consists of a written document and 40 data files (2.6 gigabytes total) that are available on 8-mm tape and from CDIAC's anonymous ftp area.

Global, Regional, and National Annual CO₂ Emission Estimates from Fossil-Fuel Burning, Hydraulic Cement Production, and Gas Flaring: 1950 to 1992

G. Marland, T. A. Boden, and R. J. Andres, Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

NDP-030/R6, ORNL/CDIAC-58 (1995)

This NDP constitutes the most comprehensive CO₂ emissions database presently available. It includes annual estimates of global, regional, and national CO₂ emissions resulting from fossil-fuel burning, cement manufacturing, and gas flaring in oil fields for 1950 to 1992 and the energy-production, -consumption, and trade data used for these estimates. This CO₂ emission database is essential to carbon cycle research, provides estimates of the rate at which fossil-fuel combustion has released CO₂ to the atmosphere, and offers baseline estimates for those countries compiling 1990 CO₂ emission inventories.

The CO₂ emissions NDP consists of 28 files, requiring approximately 8.5 MB. The data files are available on 9-track magnetic tape; IBM-formatted floppy diskettes; 8-mm tapes; 150-MB, quarter-inch tape cartridges; and from CDIAC's anonymous file transfer protocol (FTP) area via the Internet.

Continental-Scale Estimates of the Biotic Carbon Flux from Land-Cover Change: 1850 to 1980

R. A. Houghton, The Woods Hole Research Institute, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
J. L. Hackler, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia

CDIAC NDP-050, ORNL/CDIAC-79 (1995)

The annual carbon flux caused by land-cover change was estimated for nine regions of the world (North America, Europe, the Former Soviet Union, Pacific Developed Region, China, South and Central America, North Africa-Middle East, Tropical Africa, and South and Southeast Asia). Annual rates of land-cover change and vegetation-soil response curves for each region and ecosystem were produced. The vegetation-soil curves are used in a bookkeeping carbon model to estimate the carbon flux with the atmosphere from the clearing or degradation of vegetation, cultivation of soils, decay of dead vegetation, and the recovery of abandoned lands. The model calculates the net flux of carbon in each region based on land-cover-change rates and vegetation-soil response curves for the period 1850 to 1980 (a few regions have land-cover records beginning in 1700 and carbon-flux estimates ending in 1990). These data were collected and modeled in an attempt to reduce the uncertainty associated with the magnitude and time course of the flux of carbon from terrestrial vegetation to the atmosphere.

Analysis of the land-cover data found that, worldwide, about 58 x 10⁶ ha of land were converted to agricultural use in 1980 alone. About 40% of this total involved lands previously cleared or degraded by slash-and-burn (shifting) cultivators. These land-cover changes resulted in a net flux to the atmosphere of 1.4 x 10⁹ Mg of carbon. This clearing, and the degradation of other ecosystems, is a result of increased demand for agricultural and wood products by the world's growing population. These demands have resulted in a significant decline in the amount of carbon sequestered per hectare of forest. For example, in South and Southeast Asia, the mean carbon content of forestland has decreased from 137 Mg C/ha in 1880 to 109 Mg C/ha in 1980, a 20% decrease in 100 years.

The data in this NDP were developed in three phases. The first phase was the collection of land-cover-change data from international and national data sources and the conversion of these data into annual rates of clearing, logging, or abandonment for each major ecosystem in a region. Secondly, regional- and ecosystem-specific vegetation-soil response curves were developed for each region. In the final phase, the land-cover-change rates and response curves were entered into a sequential bookkeeping model, and the annual flux of carbon from land-cover change was calculated. The resulting NDP contains: annual deforestation/afforestation rates, vegetation-soil response curves for each natural ecosystem in each region, and the net annual flux of carbon to or from the atmosphere for each region.

The NDP consists of 20 Lotus 1-2-3 files, 3 flat ASCII data files, and 2 FORTRAN and 2 SAS data-retrieval programs, all totalling 0.84 MB. The data files are available on 9-track magnetic tape; IBM-formatted floppy diskettes; 8-mm tapes; 150-MB, quarter-inch tape cartridges; and from CDIAC's anonymous file transfer protocol (FTP) area via the Internet.

Carbon Dioxide, Hydrographic, and Chemical Data Obtained During the R/V Meteor Cruise 15/3 in the South Atlantic Ocean (WOCE Section A9, February^_March 1991)

K. M. Johnson, D. W. R. Wallace, and R. J. Wilke, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York
C. Goyet, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

CDIAC NDP-051, ORNL/CDIAC-82 (1995)

The Research Vessel (R/V) Meteor Expedition 15/3 began in Vitoria, Brazil, on February 10, 1991, and ended in Pointe Noire, Congo, 42 days later. The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) Zonal Section A9 began at approximately 38° W, and continued eastward along the 19° S Parallel until approximately 8° E. Samples were collected for TCO₂ at 28 stations along the 19th Parallel and three diversions north and south of the 19th Parallel (to track bottom-water movements). Along WOCE Section A9, pressure, temperature, salinity, and oxygen were measured with a conductivity, temperature and depth sensor. Bottle salinity, oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, silicate, CCl₄, CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, total CO₂ (TCO₂), total alkalinity, and partial pressure of CO₂ (pCO₂) at 20° C were also measured. Secchi-disk readings were made during the later portion of the cruise.

The TCO₂ was measured with an automated sample processor coupled to a coulometer. The precision and accuracy of the system was approximately 1.0 mol/kg. The R/V Meteor 15/3 was a shakedown cruise for an experimental system for measuring pCO₂ on discrete water samples using a batch equilibration technique followed by headspace gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. With a precision/accuracy of about 2 to 3%, the data quality are poor relative to more recent data, but have been included for completeness. Samples collected for total alkalinity were measured with standard potentiometric techniques; precision was 2.6 mol/kg.

The data are in four files totalling about 0.92 MB. They are available on 9-track magnetic tape; IBM-formatted floppy diskettes; 8-mm tapes; and 150-MB, quarter-inch tape cartridges and from CDIAC's anonymous file transfer protocol (FTP) area via the Internet.

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kng 02/15/96