Graphing Climate Data

PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

The Greenhouse Effect
Venus and Earth are about the same size and so close that they are frequently called the twin
planets of our solar system. Yet, Venus is so hot that lead will melt on its surface! A runaway greenhouse
effect makes Venus this hot. The greenhouse effect occurs when the atmosphere of a planet acts much like
the glass in a greenhouse. Like the greenhouse glass, the atmosphere allows visible solar energy to pass
through, but it also prevents some energy from radiating back out into space. The greenhouse effect insures
that the surface of a planet is much warmer than interplanetary space because the atmosphere traps heat in
the same way a greenhouse traps heat. Certain gases, called greenhouse gases tend to reflect radiant energy
from the Earth back to the Earths surface, improving the atmospheres ability to trap heat. All greenhouse
gases are trace gases existing in small amounts in our atmosphere. Greenhouse gases include CO2, CH4,
CH3CH2OH, N2O, some CFCs, and H2O vapor.
We know that the greenhouse effect is necessary for survival. Without it, the Earth would be cold,
so cold that life as we know it could not exist. However, scientists still have questions that must be
answered. What kinds and amounts of greenhouse gases are necessary for survival? Are the amounts of
greenhouse gases increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same? To answer these questions, scientists
monitor the amounts of greenhouse gases in the Earths atmosphere.
The atmospheric gas most responsible for the warming effect on both Venus and Earth is CO2. On
both planets, a primary source of CO2 is volcanic eruptions. The difference between these two planets is
that on Venus, 97% of the atmosphere is CO2, whereas on Earth, much less than one percent of the
atmosphere is CO2. Why is there so much less CO2 on Earth? The carbon cycle holds the answer.
In the natural cycle of carbon, plants take in CO2 and give off oxygen, whereas animals take in
oxygen and emit CO2. Further, CO2 dissolved in seawater is used by plants during photosynthesis and by
other seawater organisms such as clams and coral to produce CaCO3 shells. These processes help control
the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere.
Human beings complicate the natural carbon cycle because they increase the amount of CO2 in
Earths atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. Driving automobiles, heating buildings, and producing
consumer goodsall add to the concentration of CO2 in Earths atmosphere.
Methane, CH4 is another greenhouse gas. It is produced in swamps, bogs, and rice paddies, as
well as in the intestinal tracts of most animals , including cattle, sheep, and humans. Coal, oil, and gas
exploration also contribute to the accumulation of CH4 in the atmosphere. However, CH4 concentrations
are much less than CO2 concentrations.
N2O or laughing gas is another greenhouse gas accumulating in the atmosphere, although not as
fast as CH4. Fertilizer decomposition, industrial processes that use HNO3, and small amounts from
automobile emissions all contribute to increasing atmospheric N 2O.
In the procedure for this activity, you will plot curves for the CO2 (ppm) and CH4 (ppb) concentrations
found in the atmosphere over a period of time. [Note: concentration is measured in parts per million (ppm)
for CO2 and parts per billion (ppb) for CH4. For example, a CO2 concentration of 350 ppm means that there
are 350 parts of CO2 in a total of one million parts of air.] In much the same way a scientist would monitor
concentrations of gases in the atmosphere, you will look for changes and trends, as well as maximum and
minimum concentrations during that same time period. Data in the tables 1-3 were provided by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics
Laboratory.
MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT USED
Labpro or excel graphing software
PROCEDURE
Using the data in Tables 1, 2, and 3, create appropriate graphs on a computer graphing program, and answer
the corresponding analysis questions.

DATA
Table 1 Seasonal Mean concentrations of atmospheric CO2 in Barrow, Alaska
Year and Season
Code for X-axis
CO2 concentration (in ppm)
1975 Feb.
1
336.84
1975 Sept.
2
324.36
1976 Feb
3
337.27
1976 Sept.
4
324.90
1977 Feb
5
338.09
1977 Sept.
6
325.82
1978 Feb
7
339.06
1978 Sept.
8
326.98
1979 Feb
9
340.67
1979 Sept.
10
328.58
1980 Feb
11
342.25
1980 Sept
12
329.96
1981 Feb
13
343.32
1981 Sept
14
332.28
1982 Feb
15
343.83
1982 Sept
16
331.80
1983 Feb
17
346.56
1983 Sept
18
333.75
1984 Feb
19
347.70
1984 Sept
20
335.60
1985 Feb
21
349.83
1985 Sept
22
336.85
1986 Feb
23
350.84
1986 Sept
24
338.29
1987 Feb
25
352.58
1987 Sept
26
339.78
1988 Feb
27
354.00
1988 Sept
28
341.21
1989 Feb
29
356.22
1989 Sept
30
344.53
1990 Feb
31
359.53
1990 Sept
32
346.37
1991 Feb
33
360.72
1991 Sept
34
347.18
1992 Feb
35
361.70
1992 Sept
36
348.23
1993 Feb
37
362.57
1993 Sept
38
348.48
1994 Feb
39
362.78
1994 Sept
40
348.89
1995 Feb
41
363.80
1995 Sept
42
350.64
1996 Feb
43
366.10
1996 Sept
44
352.92
1997 Feb
45
368.27
1997 Sept
46
354.82
1998 Feb
47
369.60
1998 Sept
48
355.53
1999 Feb
49
371.03
1999 Sept
50
358.29

2000 Feb
51
374.18
2000 Sept
52
360.16
2001 Feb
53
375.37
2001 Sept
54
361.21
2002 Feb
55
376.64
2002 Sept
56
362.82
2003 Feb
57
378.61
2003 Sept
58
365.05
2004 Feb
59
381.23
2004 Sept
60
367.39
2005 Feb
61
382.96
2005 Sept
62
368.57
2006 Feb
63
384.75
2006 Sept
64
371.00
2007 Feb
65
387.42
2007 Sept
66
373.51
Data from Keeling et. al, 2008 retrieved from the CDIAC website database
Analysis Questions:
1. What general trend do you notice from 1974 to 2007?

2.

What season tends to have lower levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (late winter or late
summer). WHY does this occur?

3.

What is the atmospheric range of carbon dioxide values from 1974 to 2007?

4.

Calculate the rate of change for concentration of CO2. Subtract the lowest concentration from the
highest concentration shown on your graph. Determine the total number of years elapsed in the
data set. Divide the concentration from your first subtraction by the number of years elapsed.
Your result is the change in concentration per year.

5.

What is the AVERAGE atmospheric carbon dioxide value for 1974 to 2007 in Barrow Alaska?

Table 2: Historical Carbon dioxide concentrations from Vostok Ice Core (Antartica)
Years before present
CO2 concentration in
Years before present
CO2 concentration in
(or years ago)
ppm
(or years ago)
ppm
3,000 (1)
272.8
190,000 (25)
231.5
6,000 (2)
262.2
200,000 (26)
251
8,000 (3)
259.6
210,000 (27)
244.6
10,000 (4)
261.6
220,000 (28)
216.1
13,000 (5)
236.2
230,000 (29)
245.2
17,000 (6)
182.2
240,000 (30)
230.4
20,000 (7)
189.2
250,000 (31)
203.9
23,000 (8)
191.6
260,000 (32)
190.4
31,000 (9)
205.4
270,000 (33)
231.4
44,000 (10)
189.3
280,000 (34)
206.7
51,000 (11)
190.4
290,000 (35)
240.2
63,000 (12)
195.4
300,000 (36)
251.7
72,000 (13)
227.4
310,000 (37)
257.2
80,000 (14)
221.8
320,000 (38)
272.7
91,000 (15)
224.3
330,000 (39)
234.2
100,000 (16)
230.9
340,000 (40)
220.4
110,000 (17)
251.3
350,000 (41)
193
120,000 (18)
265.2
360,000 (42)
201.9
130,000 (19)
257.9
370,000 (43)
227
140,000 (20)
195.6
380,000 (44)
258.1
150,000 (21)
191.9
390,000 (45)
250.2
160,000 (22)
196.5
400,000 (46)
278
170,000 (23)
197.8
410,000 (47)
276.3
180,000 (24)
213.2
Data from Barnola et al., 2003 Laboratoire de Glaciologie ed de Geophysique de lEnvironment,
France, retrieved from CDIAC data base
Analysis Questions:
1) Over the last 400,000 years, what is the range of atmospheric carbon dioxide values?

2) Over the last 400,000 years, what is the AVERAGE atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration?

2) Do the carbon dioxide concentrations in the last 30+ years, as referenced in graph1, match with normal
fluctuations in the historical record? Discuss QUANTATITIVELY.

Table 3: Yearly Average CO2 value and temperatures for La Jolla, California
Year
CO2 (ppm)
Average Temp (F)
1974
331.88
60.43
1975
332.84
59.08
1976
333.70
62.16
1977
335.44
62
1978
337.18
62.35
1979
338.94
61.78
1980
340.04
62.23
1981
341.16
63.24
1982
342.03
61.48
1983
343.87
63.32
1984
345.77
63.18
1985
346.83
61.87
1986
348.01
63.1
1987
349.77
62.02
1988
352.36
62.4
1989
353.58
62.73
1990
354.89
63.03
1991
356.35
61.95
1992
356.83
64.58
1993
357.70
63.41
1994
359.45
62.31
1995
361.28
63.32
1996
362.97
63.63
1997
364.16
64.87
1998
366.84
62.25
1999
368.86
61.19
2000
369.86
62.84
2001
371.38
61.67
2002
373.32
62.69
2003
376.01
62.69
2004
377.88
62.73
2005
379.95
63.15
2006
382.69
62.48
2007
384.56
62.48
2008
N/A
63.13
Analysis Questions:
1. What is the general trend for atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations in La Jolla ?

2.

What is the average carbon dioxide concentration?

3.

Calculate the rate of change for concentration of CO2. Subtract the lowest concentration from the
highest concentration shown on your graph. Determine the total number of years elapsed in the
data set. Divide the concentration from your first subtraction by the number of years elapsed.
Your result is the change in concentration per year.

4.

How does the average CO2 concentration in California compare to the average CO2 concentration
in Barrow Alaska? How does the rate of change compare? Why do you think you see a difference?

5.

What is the average temperature for each decade? (1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s)

6.

What trend do you see in temperature?

7.

What trends do you see in temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations?