4/7/2023 0 Comments Carbon intensity![]() This is distinct from ‘direct’ emissions which come from burning fuel directly, such as in one’s car or home. Most of the carbon footprint emission for the average person comes from ‘indirect’ sources, that is, fuel burned to produce goods far away from the final consumer. By its very nature, we cannot provide a precise breakdown of the different components of the carbon footprint. The total emissions are expressed as CO 2 equivalents, the amount of CO 2 that would have the equivalent global warming impact, to facilitate comparison. The concept of carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted through land clearance and production and consumption of energy, food, fuels, manufactured goods, materials, wood, toad, buildings, transportation and other services. In fact, the last time the atmospheric CO 2 amounts were this high was more than 3 million years ago, when temperatures were 2°–3☌ (3.6°–5.4☏) higher than during the pre-industrial era, and sea level was 15–25 meters (50–80 feet) higher than today. This recent relentless rise in CO 2 shows a remarkably constant relationship with fossil-fuel burning, and can be well accounted for based on the simple premise that about 60 percent of fossil-fuel emissions stay in the air. In 2013, CO 2 levels surpassed 400 ppm for the first time in recorded history. ![]() We also show here a stark comparison with current data up to Oct 2016 which reached 402.9 ppm (black dot).įigure 3: Atmospheric CO 2 during ice ages and warming periods over the past 800,000 years, with data from Mauna Loa from 1975 to 2016 Data from Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide | NOAA. Throughout these cycles, atmospheric carbon dioxide was never higher than 300 ppm. The peaks and valleys in carbon dioxide levels track the coming and going of ice ages (low carbon dioxide 200 ppm) and warmer interglacial periods (higher levels around 280 ppm). In figure 3 we show atmospheric CO 2 data from the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica over a historic period dating from 800,000 years ago over several glacial periods. The most recent figure is 411.25 ppm for May 2018. The red shows seasonal variation while the black shows the average. Oct 17, 2017.įigure 2: Expanded graph showing recent monthly mean atmospheric CO 2 at Mauna Loa Data from Mauna Loa – NOAA Earth System Research Laboratoryįigure 2 presents the data from 2014 through May 2018 on a finer time scale. The increase over the last 10 years has averaged 2.3 ± 0.6 ppm per year, while the average increase from 2015 to 2016 was 3.5 ± 0.1 ppm per year, the highest on recordįigure 1: Atmospheric CO 2 from Mauna Loa observatory from 1975 to 2018 Data from Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide | NOAA. This shows a monotonic increase that is accelerating with time: In the early 1980s the average increase was 0.6 ± 0.1 ppm per year. The data are from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Mauna Loa Observatory on Hawaii. For example, 1 molecule dry air to 0.000400 molecules of carbon dioxide is expressed as 400 ppm. Recent Update on CO 2 Emissionsįigure 1 shows direct measurements of atmospheric CO 2 from 1975 to April 2018 in parts per million (ppm), or the number of carbon dioxide molecules per million molecules of dry air. About 20% will stay in the atmosphere for thousands of years. ![]() So far, land plants and the ocean take up 55% of the extra carbon we have put into the atmosphere while about 45% has stayed in the atmosphere. As we all know, the world is producing more and more greenhouse gases (GHG), mainly carbon dioxide CO 2, and methane CH 4, which are released through human activities like deforestation and burning of fossil fuels, though natural processes such as respiration and volcanic eruptions also play a part.
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