Introduction

The increasing amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from the

burning of fossil fuels has become a serious environmental concern. The Scripps
CO2 program was initiated in 1956 to monitor level of the atmospheric CO2. This report
is largely based on record from Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii. CO2 emissions
released by fossil fuel combustion leads to increased global temperatures as a result of
the greenhouse effect, CO2 measurements give us better understanding of this
connection. This data gave evidence that supported theories connecting greenhouse
gas emissions and climate change which dated back to the 1800s, significant action to
reduce it was then started to be taken.

CO2 Measurement and Observations

The Scripps CO2 program has relied, through nearly its full history, on CO2
measurements made on an Applied Physics Corporation (APC) non-dispersive infrared
CO2 analyzer operated at Scripps.
First pattern observed was the air contained more CO2 in night than during the day. As
a result of plant’s photosynthesis is absent in night, hence no consumption of CO2.
Second observation came from Mauna Loa, the presence of seasonal oscillations of
CO2, which had peaks in May and declines in November. It was due to vegetation
cycles that prevail across the northern hemisphere: Plants take in CO2 during the grow-
ing period which lasts from April through August in photosynthesis, thus reducing
atmospheric CO2 levels during these months. In the winter when plants lose their
leaves, carbon stored within plant tissues and soils is released to the atmosphere,
increasing CO2 concentrations. Third pattern detected was that average value of
concentration of CO2 every year was increasing every year. It was due to the
combustion of fossil fuels by industry and to land use changes. The amount of
CO2 accumulating in the atmosphere when compared against estimates of the amount
of CO2 being released by burning fossil fuels. The atmospheric fraction found to be
approximately 55%, it means that around half of all CO2 released by coal, oil and
natural gas was remaining in the atmosphere, thus causing the annual rise in amount of
CO2. Further analysis of 14C was used as evidence that the current accumulation of
CO2 in the atmosphere was linked to the liberation of long-sequestered banks of
carbon—the burning of fossil fuels by mankind.

Conclusion
There has been an unquestionable rise in amount of CO2 after industrialisation. Mauna
Loa Observatory (MLO) data are providing dramatic evidence of that: they show
amounts more than 35% over amounts recorded before the Industrial Revolution, and a
rise of 6% in the last 19 years alone. If the rate of fossil-fuel burning continues to rise on
a business-as-usual trajectory, such that humanity exhausts the reserves over the next
few centuries, CO2 will continue to rise to levels of order 1500 ppm. The atmosphere will
not return to pre-industrial levels even tens of thousands of years into the future. The
World must take serious efforts to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels in order to
prevent global warming.

Graph of monthly CO2 data

MONTHLY AVERAGE CO2 CONCENTRATION

430

410
CO2 CONCENTRATION (PPM)

390

370

350

330

310
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
YEAR

Record from Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii.