Assimilated Data On Earth's Carbon Flux

Scientists at NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colo., have released the first data from CarbonTracker, a new atmosphere-monitoring system. It uses computer models and thousands of continuous CO₂ measurements to determine the give-and-take of the greenhouse gas between the land and the atmosphere across North America (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2007, 104, 18925). By using the data assimilation system, the research team, led by Wouter Peters, calculated that between 2000 and 2005 the land absorbed on average 0.65 petagrams (10¹⁵ g) of carbon per year, mostly along the eastern coast and across the midwestern U.S. states and Canadian provinces. This uptake, which is in line with other carbon-sink measurements, partially offset the release of 1.85 Pg of carbon per year, mostly stemming from fossil-fuel burning and cement manufacturing. The authors note that carbon uptake will likely play a significant role in future climate change, but the extent to which soil can absorb atmospheric carbon is still unknown. The data and other information are available at carbontracker.noaa.gov.