Atmospheric CO₂ from Continuous Air Samples at the South Pole

Graphics    Digital 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