NOAA Carbon Monitoring, Research, and Innovation: Long-Standing Foundation to Support Climate Mitigation

Abstract

NOAA has over 50 years of experience monitoring global atmospheric levels of greenhouse gasses (GHG) emitted to the atmosphere by human activities and natural sources. This includes most notably measurements of atmospheric abundances of CO2 and other long-lived GHGs at its Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network (GGGRN). The goal of GGGRN is to provide measurements of GHGs and their large-scale spatial and temporal distributions as precisely and accurately as possible to be able to determine spatial gradients in GHGs and inform changes in emissions and sinks. Success at meeting this goal requires long-term continuity of measurements and measurement quality. To that end, NOAA is largely responsible for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standard for CO2 and several other GHG measurements, providing a solid foundation for well-calibrated global atmospheric GHG measurements. The NOAA carbon monitoring covers both the atmosphere and the oceans and its unique multi-platform approach to observing GHGs, includes the ocean observing capabilities of air-sea carbon fluxes and pCO2 measurements, among other key assets. While these networks have been instrumental in providing a basic understanding of the carbon cycle, there are many gaps that need to be filled over the next decade to assess interannual variability in both natural and anthropogenic sources and sinks of GHGs. This presentation will highlight the latest developments in NOAA carbon monitoring, including the development of new planforms, networks, and tracers for observing atmospheric and ocean GHGs gradients and processes driving these gradients. Innovative research supported by NOAA has leveraged long-term GHG monitoring to accelerate the development of global GHG models, and advanced GHG research and accounting on urban, regional, and global scales. NOAA’s GHG capabilities span measurements, process research, modeling, data assimilation and data products such as the Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI) as well as future climate projections for IPCC reports and the National Climate Assessment. NOAA uniquely includes research and service capabilities under one roof. Decades of experience in carbon cycle research, including GHG monitoring, modeling and data assimilation provide the ideal foundation to accelerate national and international efforts for carbon measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification (MMRV) in support of climate mitigation.