The Global Atmospheric CO2 Distribution 1968–1983: Interpretation of the Results of the NOAA/GMCC Measurement Program

The modern period of precise atmospheric CO₂ measurements began with Keeling’s pioneering determinations at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, and the South Pole during the International Geophysical Year. The Mauna Loa record (e.g., Keeling 1983) remains the single most valuable CO₂ time series for carbon cycle model verification. For very recent interpretations of atmospheric CO₂ measurements and carbon cycle relationships, the reader is referred to Cleveland et al. (1983), Keeling (1983), Machta (1983), Mook et al. (1983), Pearman et al. (1983), Keeling et al. (1984), Wong et al. (1984), Bacastow et al. (1985), Komhyr et al. (1985), and Fraser et al. (this volume). In this chapter, the global atmospheric CO₂ records, particularly of the NOAA/GMCC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Geophysical Monitoring for Climatic Change) program, are summarized for the period 1968 through 1983, with emphasis on the mean properties of the global carbon cycle as viewed from the atmosphere (i.e., global mean CO₂ concentration, latitude dependence of concentration and seasonal amplitude, airborne fraction, etc.).