20 October atmospheric GHG concentrations

Little change in concentrations over the past month. The feedback increase in atmospheric methane persists.

Atmospheric GHG levels 29 Sept 2012

Mauna Loa carbon dioxide and methane have changed little since last month.  Methane is still on a rising trend due to post 2007 feedback emissions from the warming planet. Nitrous oxide continues to rise.

More heat is being  added to the climate system at an unprecedented rate, which has accelerated over the past decade due to all three GHGs.

Arctic methane continues to rise due to feed back emissions.

Atmospheric GHG levels 11 Aug 2012

Atmospheric GHG concentrations correlate directly with radiative forcing, which shows how the total heat in the climate system increases-a much better indicator than surface temperature increase alone.

Compared to 800,000 year ice core limit, the the total heat in the climate system from  heat radiation of the three greenhouse gases  is extremely high.

Research suggests there is more heat in the climate system today than the past 15 million years.

11 August 2012 Atmospheric GHG levels

The atmospheric greenhouse concentrations show:

• carbon dioxide’s post 2000 increased rate of increase persists,
• methane’s post 2007 renewed increase due to feedback emissions from the warming planet (Arctic and tropical peatlands) persists at the same fast rate, so is not a temporary situation but an emergency in its own  right,
• nitrous oxide is for sure increasing the fastest and its post 2000 increased rate of increase persists. As its GWP is nearly 300 times CO2, nitrous oxide is now an extreme danger.

Record Atmospheric GHGs -Record World Drought

Atmospheric greenhouse gases – same timeframe

The NOAA atmospheric GHG graphs cover slightly different time periods. Here are the graphs corrected to the same time frame.

This shows that methane is increasing at a slightly slower rate than carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide is increasing slightly faster.

The GHGs are increasing in the atmosphere at  an unprecedented (never happened before) rate. The recent rate of change is dramatic and unprecedented; increases in CO2 never exceeded 30 ppm in 1,000 years – yet now CO2 has risen by 30 ppm in just the last 17 years… IPCC 2007 FAQ 7.1.

Therefore heat energy is being added to the climate system at an unprecedented rate – warming up the oceans, rapidly melting planetary ice, and increasing the temperature of Earth’s surface.

 

Atmospheric GHG levels (and heat content) NOAA

Atmospheric greenhouse gases August 2012

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)  provides monthly atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations.

These directly reflect the increase in the radiative forcing (heat energy content) of the atmosphere which is the most accurate measure of the heat added to the climate system.