Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to content
  • Feedback

    • Earth System Research Laboratory Carbon Cycle and Greenhouse Gases Group Continuous Measurements of CO2, CO, and CH4 from Tall Towers, 1992-Present

    Metadata Updated: September 19, 2023

    The Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network for the Carbon Cycle and Greenhouse Gases (CCGG) Group is part of NOAA'S Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) in Boulder, CO. The Reference Network measures the atmospheric distribution and trends of the three main long-term drivers of climate change, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), as well as carbon monoxide (CO) which is an important indicator of air pollution. The Reference Network measurement program includes continuous in-situ measurements at 4 baseline observatories, also known as global background sites, and 8 tall towers, as well as flask-air samples collected by volunteers at over 50 additional sites, also known as regional background sites, and from small aircraft. The air samples are returned to ESRL for analysis where measurements of about 55 trace gases are done. NOAA's Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network maintains the World Meteorological Organization international calibration scales for CO2, CH4, CO, N2O, and SF6 in air. The measurements of the Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network serve as a comparison with measurements made by many other international laboratories, and with regional studies. They are widely used in studies inferring space-time patterns of emissions and removals of greenhouse gases that are optimally consistent with the atmospheric observations. They serve as an early warning for climate "surprises". The measurements are also helpful for the ongoing evaluation of remote sensing technologies.

    Tall Tower Measurements: ESRL's Global Monitoring Division (GMD) began making measurements from tall towers in the 1990s in order to extend long-term carbon-cycle gas monitoring to continental areas. Existing television, radio and cell phone towers are utilized as sampling platforms for continuous in-situ sampling of CO2 and other atmospheric trace gases, including carbon monoxide (CO) in the continental boundary layer. The measured data are baseline levels, trends, and causes of variability of atmospheric gases that have the potential to affect global climate. The tall tower sites are part of the North American Carbon Program and are a primary data source for ESRL's Carbon Tracker CO2 data assimilation system. The historic data set is from 8 tall towers. The ongoing data set is contingent upon the observation sites that are still in use going forward.

    Through the Big Earth Data Initiative (BEDI), ESRL/GMD has taken their data collection and converted files into NetCDF-4, a self-describing format.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date June 23, 2023
    Metadata Created Date February 3, 2023
    Metadata Updated Date September 19, 2023
    Reference Date(s) 2017-10 (publication), January 1, 2000 (creation)
    Frequency Of Update annually

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from ncdc

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Tall Tower at Walnut Grove, CA

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date June 23, 2023
    Metadata Created Date February 3, 2023
    Metadata Updated Date September 19, 2023
    Reference Date(s) 2017-10 (publication), January 1, 2000 (creation)
    Responsible Party DOC/NOAA/ESRL/GMD > Global Monitoring Division, Earth System Research Laboratory, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce (Point of Contact); NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.ncdc:C01547
    Access Constraints Cite as: Andrews, A.; Kofler,J.; Trudeau, M.E.; Bakwin, P.S.; Fisher, M.L.; Sweeney, C.; Desai, A.R.; and NOAA ESRL (2017): Earth System Research Laboratory Carbon Cycle and Greenhouse Gases Group Continuous Measurements of CO2, CO, and CH4 from Tall Towers, 1992-Present, Version 1. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi: 10.7289/V57W69F2 [access date]., The information contained herein is provided as a public service, with the understanding that the NOAA/ESRL Global Monitoring Divison makes no warranties, either expressed or implied, concerning the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of the information., Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
    Bbox East Long 180.0
    Bbox North Lat 90.0
    Bbox South Lat -90.0
    Bbox West Long -180.0
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update annually
    Graphic Preview Description Tall Tower at Walnut Grove, CA
    Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/metadata/images/C01547.jpg
    Graphic Preview Type JPEG
    Harvest Object Id 9ec34a05-87b0-4aec-ae99-5c8a19f860ef
    Harvest Source Id 2cb3ef77-1683-4c2a-9119-dc65e50917c6
    Harvest Source Title ncdc
    Licence
    Lineage Raw data are transferred from station computers back to NOAA/ESRL in Boulder, CO. Known corrections to the data are applied. Once data are analyzed the data are compiled into standard NetCDF files at ESRL/GMD and are archived at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
    Metadata Language eng; USA
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-180.0, -90.0], [180.0, -90.0], [180.0, 90.0], [-180.0, 90.0], [-180.0, -90.0]]]}
    Progress onGoing
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2000-01-01

    Didn't find what you're looking for? Suggest a dataset here.