Chapter 05 · Resources
The Carbon Cycle
Greenhouse gas measurements around the globe, the annual carbon budget, and where the gases behind the PETM came from.
Measurements
NOAA greenhouse gas measurements
NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory makes surface measurements of all of the important greenhouse gases at stations across the globe. They have a fantastic website where you can plot the measurements from any stations. You can see there the general increase in greenhouse gases over the years as well as how the trend varies across the globe. For example, carbon dioxide is lower in the southern hemisphere than in the northern hemisphere, consistent with the main source being located in the northern hemisphere. You can also see how the seasonal cycle is much smaller at high southern latitudes, which is consistent with the plants driving the seasonal cycle being mainly located in the northern hemisphere. You can use this link for question 10 of Chap. 5.
gml.noaa.gov ↗
Global Carbon Budget
The Global Carbon Budget puts out an annual report on carbon dioxide emissions. This is the gold-standard assessment of what humans are dumping into the atmosphere.
globalcarbonproject.org ↗