Report 8, 04/10/2023
The major problem of climate warming is the emission of CO2 , Nitrogen Oxide, and Methane gases. This report deals with the amount of the emissions.The first diagram illustrates the emission of CO2 over the course of the last 400,000 years. Since 1950 emissions have exceeded those of any prior year.
The second diagram shows the annual emission of CO2 from1750 to 2021. The turn down in 2020 was related to the economic slowdown due to the COVID pandemic.
The third and forth graphics show the parallel accelerating increase in the presence of atmospheric Methane, N2O, and CO2 , primarily in the last decades.
The forth graphic summarizes the Greenhouse gas emissions in the two decades between 1980 and 2020. The total emissions, the emissions of the three greenhouse gasses, as well as the rise in the oxygenation, acidification and heat of the ocean are shown as increasing. The oceans absorb a major amount of CO2
emissions.
The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has been measure on Mauna Loa since 1974. Earlier measurements of CO2 are derived from atmosphere trapped in ice, which has been dated.
The relationship of the contribution of atmospheric CO2 to the rise in global temperature is shown in the next diagram. The temperature anomaly (compared to 1950) has been accelerating in recent decades.
This diagram does not include the emissions of N2O or Methane. The green line shows evidence of CO2 captured in ice cores and the blue line is the Keeling curve from atmospheric measurements on Mauna Loa in the island of Hawaii. 426 ppm were recorded on April 4, 2023. Global temperatures have risen faster than the amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere because of increases in methane and N2O.
In the next Report I will deal with the history of global heating and the sources of CO2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (methane), and N2O (nitric oxide) in the major sectors of the global economy.