Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center - Conversion Tables
Contents taken from Glossary: Carbon Dioxide and Climate, 1990. ORNL/CDIAC-39, Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Third Edition. Edited by: Fred O'Hara Jr.
1 - International System of Units (SI) Prefixes
2 - Useful Quantities in CO2
3 - Common Conversion Factors
4 - Common Energy Unit Conversion Factors
5 - Geologic Time Scales
6 - Factors and Units for Calculating Annual CO2 Emissions Using Global Fuel Production Data
Table 1. International System of Units (SI) Prefixes
| Prefix |
SI Symbol |
Multiplication Factor |
| exa |
E |
1018 |
| peta |
P |
1015 |
| tera |
T |
1012 |
| giga |
G |
109 |
| mega |
M |
106 |
| kilo |
k |
103 |
| hecto |
h |
102 |
| deka |
da |
10 |
| deci |
d |
10-1 |
| centi |
c |
10-2 |
| milli |
m |
10-3 |
| micro |
μ |
10-6 |
| nano |
n |
10-9 |
| pico |
p |
10-12 |
| femto |
f |
10-15 |
| atto |
a |
10-18 |
Table 2. Useful Quantities in CO2 Research
Modified from Clark, W. C. (ed.). 1982. Carbon Dioxide Review: 1982, p. 469, Oxford University Press, New York.
| Quantity |
Symbol1 |
Value |
| Solar constant |
S |
1.367 kW/m2 |
| Earth mass |
M |
5.976 × 1024 kg |
| Equatorial radius |
a |
6.378 × 106 m |
| Polar radius |
c |
6.357 × 106 m |
| Mean radius |
R |
6.371 × 106 m |
| Surface area |
Ae |
5.101 × 1014 m2 |
| Land area |
Al |
1.481 × 1014 m2 |
| Ocean area |
As |
3.620 × 1014 m2 |
Ice sheets and
glaciers area |
Is |
0.14 × 1014 m2 |
| Mean land elevation |
hl |
840 m |
| Mean ocean depth |
hs |
3730 m |
| Mean ocean volume |
Vs |
1.350 × 1018 m3 |
| Ocean mass |
Ms |
1.384 × 1021 kg |
| Mass of atmosphere |
Ma |
5.137 × 1018 kg |
Equatorial surface
gravity |
ge |
9.78 m/s2 |
Polar surface
gravity |
gp |
9.83 m/s2 |
| Average surface |
g |
9.805 m/s2 |
1Symbols generally follow reference standards used in Bolin, B. (ed.). 1981. Carbon Cycle Modelling, SCOPE 16, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Table 3. Common Conversion Factors
Modifed from Clark, W. C. (ed.). 1982. Carbon Dioxide Review: 1982, p. 467, Oxford University Press, New York.
- Area-length-volume
- 1 acre = 43,560 ft2 = 4,047 m2
- 1 acre-foot = 1.2335 × 103 m3
- 1 cubic foot (ft3) = 0.02832 m3
- 1 hectare (ha) = 10,000 m2 = 2.47 acres
- 1 square mile (sq mi) = 2.59 × 106 m2
|
- Pressure
- 1 atmosphere = 76.0 cm Hg = 1,013.25 millibars (mb)
- 1 bar = 0.98692 atmosphere
- 1 pascal (Pa) = 0.9869 × 10-5 atmosphere = 1 × 10-2 mb
- = 10 microbars = 1.4504 × 10-4 pounds per square inch (psi)
- 1 millibar (mb) = 1 hectopascal (hPa) = 100 pascals (Pa)
|
- Factors for carbon and carbon dioxide
- 1 mole C/liter = 12.011 × 10-3 Gt C/km3
- 1 ppm by volume of atmosphere CO2 = 2.13 Gt C
- (Uses atmospheric mass (Ma) = 5.137 × 1018 kg)
- 1 mole CO2 = 44.009 g CO2 = 12.011 g C
- 1 g C = 0.083 mole CO2 = 3.664 g CO2
|
Table 4. Common Energy Unit Conversion Factors
|
|
J |
Quad |
kcal |
mtce |
boe |
mtoe |
m3gas |
TWyr |
| 1 J = |
1 |
947.9 × 10-21 |
239 × 10-6 |
34.14 × 10-12 |
163.4 × 10-12 |
22.34 × 10-12 |
26.84 × 10-9 |
31.71 × 10-21 |
| 1 Quad = |
1055 × 1015 |
1 |
252 × 1012 |
36.02 × 106 |
172.4 × 106 |
23.57 × 106 |
28.32 × 109 |
33.45 × 10- 3 |
| 1 kcal = |
4184 |
3966 × 10-18 |
1 |
142.9 × 10-9 |
683.8 × 10-9 |
93.47 × 10-9 |
112.3 × 10-6 |
132.7 × 10-18 |
| 1 mtce = |
29.29 × 109 |
27.76 × 10-9 |
7 × 106 |
1 |
4.786 |
0.6543 |
786.1 |
928.7 × 10-12 |
| 1 boe = |
6119 × 106 |
5.8 × 10-9 |
1462 × 103 |
0.2089 |
1 |
0.1367 |
164.2 |
194 × 10-12 |
| 1 mtoe = |
44.76 × 109 |
42.43 × 10-9 |
10.7 × 106 |
1.528 |
7.315 |
1 |
1201 |
1419 × 10-12 |
| 1 m3gas = |
37.26 × 106 |
35.31 × 10-12 |
8905 |
1272 × 10-6 |
6089 × 10-6 |
832.3 × 10-6 |
1 |
1181 × 10-15 |
| 1 Twyr = |
31.54 × 1018 |
29.89 |
7537 × 1012 |
1076 × 106 |
5154 × 106 |
704.5 × 106 |
846.4 × 109 |
1 |
Notes: J = Joule; Quad = Quadrillion BTU (British thermal unit); kcal = kilogram calorie; mtce = metric ton of coal equivalent; boe = barrel of oil equivalent; mtoe = metric ton of oil equivalent; m3gas = cubic meter of natural gas; Twyr = terawatt-year
From: Clark, W. C. (ed.). 1982. Carbon Dioxide Review: 1982, p. 468, Oxford University Press, New York.
Table 5. Geologic Time Scales
| Era |
Period |
Epoch |
Beginning
(Millions Years
Before Present) |
| Cenozoic |
Quarternary |
Recent (Holocene) |
0.01 |
|
|
Pleistocene |
2-3 |
|
Tertiary |
Pliocene |
5 |
|
|
Miocene |
25 |
|
|
Oligocene |
37 |
|
|
Eocene |
54 |
|
|
Paleocene |
65 |
| Mesozoic |
Cretaceous |
|
135 |
|
Jurassic |
|
190 |
|
Triassic |
|
225 |
| Paleozoic |
Permian |
|
280 |
|
Carboniferous |
|
345 |
|
Devonian |
|
400 |
|
Silurian |
|
440 |
|
Ordovician |
|
500 |
|
Cambrian |
|
570 |
| Precambrian |
|
|
>570 |
Table 6. Factors and Units for Calculating Annual CO2 Emissions Using Global Fuel Production Data
Formula: CO2i = (Pi)(FOi)(Ci) with all masses in metric tons (103 kg).
Source: Marland, G. and R. M. Rotty. 1983. Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Fossil Fuels: A Procedure for Estimation and Results for 1950-1981, DOE/NBB-0036, TR003, U. S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.
- From Coal Production
-
| CO2s |
= |
CO2 emissions in 106 tons C |
| Ps |
= |
Annual production in 106 tons coal equivalent (± approx. 11.2%) |
| FOs |
= |
Effective fraction oxidized in year of production = 0.982 ± 2% |
| Cs |
= |
Carbon content in tons C per ton coal equivalent = 0.746 ± 2%
(The 0.746 value includes a heating value adjustment to recognize that the carbon content, developed on a higher heating value basis,must be increased when used with UN production data based on"net" or lower heating values.) |
|
- From Natural Gas Production
-
| CO2g |
= |
CO2 emissions in 106 tons C |
| Pg |
= |
Annual production in thousands of 1012 joules (± approx. 10%) |
| FOg |
= |
Effective fraction oxidized in year of production = 0.98 ± 1% |
| Cg |
= |
Carbon content in 106 tons C per thousand 1012 joules = 0.0137 ± 2% |
|
- From Natural Gas Flaring
-
| CO2f |
= |
CO2 emissions in 106 tons C |
| Pf |
= |
Annual gas flaring in 109 cubic meters (± approx. 20%) |
| FOf |
= |
Effective fraction oxidized in year of flaring = 1.00 ± 1% |
| Cf |
= |
Carbon content in tons C per thousand cubic meters = 0.525 ± 3% |
|
- From Crude Oil and Natural Gas Liquids Production
-
| 2l |
= |
CO2 emissions in 106 tons C |
| Pl |
= |
Annual production in 106 tons (± approx. 8%) |
| FOl |
= |
Effective fraction oxidized in year of production = 0.918 ± 3% |
| Cl |
= |
Carbon content in tons C per ton crude oil = 0.85 ± 1% |
|
Contents taken from Glossary: Carbon Dioxide and Climates, 1990. ORNL/CDIAC-39, Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Acronyms and abbreviations can be found in the Acronyms and Abbreviations list.
A carbon dioxide-related glossary can be found in the Glossary list.
