The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate ResearchA partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology

Southern Hemisphere Regional Greenhouse Gas Observation Networks

M. V. van der Schoot1, A. Stavert1, L. P. Steele1, R. J. Francey1, D. A. Spencer1, P. B. Krummel1, P. J. Fraser1, Z.M. Loh1, R. Langenfelds1, M. Schmidt2, M. Ramonet2, B. Wastine2, G. Brailsford3

1CAWCR/CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Australia2Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, France3NIWA, New Zealand

www.cawcr.gov.au

GGMT 2011, Wellington, NZ

Outline of today’s talk

• Southern Hemisphere measurement challenges and applications/opportunities

• Australian continental GHG observation network• Progress with new pilot Australian Tropical Atmospheric Research Station (ATARS)

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The CSIRO (GASLAB) collaborative flask network

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Southern Hemisphere measurement challenges & applications

• SH far removed from large emission sources (NH) • SH dominated by ocean effects• Very well mixed atmosphere• Integrated global baseline after inter-hemispheric mixing

(~1year)

• Precision requirements more critical in SH vs NH (WMO recommendation 0.05ppm vs 0.1ppm)

• Biases between sites important (sampling and calibration)

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Southern Hemisphere measurement challenges & applications

• Atmospheric verification of GLOBAL fossil fuel CO2emissions/reductions?

• Definitive global multi-year trends best measured at mid-high southern latitudes

• Large spatial representativeness, well mixed & far from regional emission sources (NH)

• Atmospheric-based assessment of Southern Ocean CO2sink?

• Southern Ocean CO2 sink – decreasing efficiency?• Use of high precision atmospheric measurements with

atm/ocean inversion modelling• Use of O2/N2 to constrain CO2 sink partition• Antarctic coastal impact on CO2 sink/Sea ice CO2 dynamics

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2000-year SH GHG records: Law Dome & Cape Grim

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Spatial Representativeness

-70

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180

>100°longitude

~30°latitude

~8km vertically

Pak (2000) Vertical structure of atmospheric trace gases over Southeast Australia PhD Thesis, University of Melbourne

median Rn222~37 mBqm-3, t½=3.8d

2001-2007

~190±77 hrs/month

Zahorowski et al. (2003) Tellus& pers. Comm.

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Decadal increase in annual fossil CO2 emissions (from Roger Francey using Marland et al., 2008; Andres, pers. comm.)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

FF

Incr

ease

(P

gCy-

1 ) d

ecad

e-1

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Decadal increase in annual fossil CO2 emissions (using Marland et al., 2008; Andres, pers. comm.)

Francey et al (2011) in press

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Southern Ocean network

• High precision (LoFlo)

• Calibration propagation (~0.01ppm)

• Link to a regional calibration scale

• Quantify site biases• Side-by-side

comparisons• ICP

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Australian Continental GHG network (CH4, CO2 in situ)

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In-situ CH4 (all data)

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Why are tropics important?

Tropics play a major role in global climate processes (not well defined):

• Home to ~1/2 of global population & rapid economic development (eg. India & China)

• Major global source and sink for CO2 and CH4• biomass burning• wetlands• rice production

• ~80% of global sources of N2O (25% of which from Asian tropics) (Huang et al, 2008)

• ~75% of global sources & 60% global sinks H2 (Xiao et al, 2007) • Short-lived halocarbons (stratospheric influence)

• Tropics are a critically under-sampled region

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Tropical Sampling Sites

Cape Ferguson, QLD Dec 1989 –

Great Barrier Reef, QLD Jun 1986 – Dec 1988 (sporadic)

Charles Point, NT Sep 1990 – Dec 1990

Oct 1992 – Dec 1998

Jabiru, NT Jan 1987 – May 1991

Myilly Point, NT Aug 1990 – Mar 1993 (sporadic)

Trace gas species analysed:

Before 1991/92: CO2, CH4, CO

After 1991/92: CO2 and its δ13C and δ18O, CH4, CO, H2, N2O

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GASLAB flask data: CH4

1640

1660

1680

1700

1720

1740

1760

1780

1800

1820

1840

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Date

CH

4 (p

pb

)

Cape Grim

Mauna Loa

Cape Ferguson

Charles Point

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GASLAB flask data: CO2

345

350

355

360

365

370

375

380

385

390

395

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Date

CO

2 (p

pm

)

Cape Grim

Mauna Loa

Cape Ferguson

Charles Point

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Gunn Point (NT) - existing radar station (BoM)(Lat/Long: 12.2 S, 131.0 E)

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Air mass origin maps Gunn Point(courtesy Alistair Manning UK Met Office )

Dry season

Wet season

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Gunn Point (NT) –New tropical Australian monitoring site

• Wet / Dry season air masses giving continental coverage with Cape Grim station, clean Indian Ocean air & SE Asian air masses

• Strategically located to reduce global scale atm. inversion CO2 flux uncertainties

• Based at existing research radar site at Gunn Point (BoM)• Unique opportunity to combine existing state-of-the-art physical

atmospheric research facilities currently in Darwin (BoM / US DoE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program) with high precision chemical atmospheric measurements

• Regular field campaigns (Mctex, TRMM, Dawex, TWPICE...)

• TCCON network site at Darwin (FTS) for satellite validation (GOSAT, SCHIAMACHY) since September 2005 (University of Wollongong/Caltech)

• Extensive tropical ecosystem (Savanah) research (CSIRO, Charles Darwin University)

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Gunn Point – atmospheric measurement program

• Current (Sep 2011)• In-situ CO2 & CH4 (CRDS)• In-situ 13CO2/12CO2 (CRDS)• Flask CO2, CH4,13CO2/12CO2, N2O, CO, H2

• Met (WS, WD)• Radon (ANSTO)• O3, CO, NO/NOX

• Proposed measurement program• In-situ CO/N2O (Aerodyne) 2012• PM2.5/PM10

• Aerosols (dry season campaign completed June 2010)• Short-lived halocarbons, C4-C12 HCs: GC-ECD (N. Harris, U.

Cambridge, UK) (May 2012)• Medusa (2012/13?)

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Thank you

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate ResearchA partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology

Thank youwww.cawcr.gov.au

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