Analysis of Interactive Plots of Worldwide CO2 Data_2021

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Feb 20, 2024

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Analysis of Interactive Plots of Worldwide CO 2 Data Geoscientists use data to understand how the Earth System works. Science is based on real data from which hypotheses are formulated. Understanding and interpreting the data is a skill that all scientists learn as they first, advance their education, and, second, as they conduct their research. In this exercise, you are going to look at the data as an informed citizen and explain what the data display is attempting to convey. All data must be digested in pieces. This exercise will help you break down the data presented so that you can understand it. THIS LAB EXERCISE WILL BE GRADED ON ACCURACY, SENTENCE STRUCTURE, SPELLING, GRAMMAR, AND CONTENT. DO YOUR BEST WORK. 1. Open the Analysis of Interactive Plots of Worldwide CO 2 video from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) from this link: https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/history.html . There is no sound. You will want to watch this several times to take in all of the information that is being displayed. The animation will begin as soon as you open it. Move the slider all the way to the left and stop it at the zero point of the video. 2. Before you begin watching the animation, let’s take a look at the baseline information being presented. There is a lot of information available in this animation so we will break it down piece by piece. 3. Review the title of the interactive animation and the key to the data displayed. 4. Focus your concentration on the graph on the left side of the screen. a. What is represented along the horizontal axis ? Points of Latitude b. What is represented along the vertical axis? Atmospheric CO2 levels (ppm) The different color dots on the graph represent observation stations across the globe. See the small world map in the upper right to note the locations of these stations. c. What data is being collected at the observation stations? CO2 levels at Mauna Loa, the South Pole. background conditions, and local signals d. Where is the data being collected at the blue dot? The South Pole/Antarctica e. Where is the data being collected at the red dot? Mauna Loa/Pacific Ocean f. At what date does the data collection begin? 01/01/1979 g. What does “ppm” actually mean? parts per million, the amount of gas by volume in the air

h. What is the baseline concentration of CO 2 ? 336 ppm @ Mauna Loa i. What is the baseline concentration of CO 2 ? 334 ppm @ the South Pole j. Using complete sentences , explain what the initial line graph represents. The initial line graph represents the atmospheric CO2 levels along the vertical axis, as well as each year between 1979-2019 on the horizontal axis. The initial line acts as a baseline for the rest of the graph. The graph allows us to see the drastic differences in the CO2 levels at the two stations. 5. Let the animation run and concentrate on the movement in the left graph . a. *** Thought Question*** Why is the left side of the graph relatively static while the right side of the graph is fluctuating up and down? Hints: ● Match the fluctuations while noting the time of year that the fluctuations take place. ● Think about the world population distribution south of the equator vs. north. ● Think about the world land surface distribution south of the equator vs. north. ● Also, think about how CO 2 is produced, both man-made and natural. Explain in complete sentences : The left side appears to be relatively static as it represents the readings from Antartica, where there is a much smaller population than anywhere above the equator, which means that there are much fewer resources used. This also means that there are much fewer chances for CO2 to be put into the atmosphere, meaning that it will continue to have a relatively static carbon footprint. This area has lots of ice, which reflects heat, rather than absorbing it like water would, allowing for a slower buildup of heat. b. As the graph on the left is running, the graph on the right also starts up. What does the graph on the right represent? The graph on the right represents the atmospheric CO2 changes between 1979 and 2019 c. What does the blue line represent vs. the red?

The blue line represents the station in Antarctica, whereas the red line represents the Mauna Loa station d. Notice the pop up for October 1989, why is that important? Have you ever heard of the climate change activism group “350.org”? If not, check it out and find out why the 350 ppm number is so important. You can also do a simple Internet search on this as well. October 1989 is important because it was the last time that Mauna Loa was at 350 ppm. This number represents climate safety, a number that preserves a planet that we can live on. Scientists have said that we must reduce the current level to below 350 ppm, as at the Earth’s current state, there is far too much CO2 in the atmosphere, which is leading to many negative effects such as: rising temperatures, rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and worsening droughts. e. Notice as you move through time that the number of “signals” (stations) is increasing. Think about why this would be important with respect to the scientific method and provide your insight: The scientific method has a hypothesis, which is then tested through observation and data gathering in order to reach a conclusion. Our hypothesis in this scenario is that if excess carbon leads to negative effects to the atmosphere, then we need more stations in order to observe and record more data to find a trend and conclusion. f. Stop the animation when the January 2021 CO 2 concentration shows up on the graph in red. What is the concentration of CO 2 in January 2021? 415 ppm 6. After you pass about the 1:25 minute mark of the video, the graph on the right will begin to expand. Pay close attention to the graph as it expands. The graph changes from Red/Blue represented data from Mauna Loa and Antarctica, to Green for data collected by Dr. Charles D. Keeling before the CO 2 monitoring stations were set up. a. Who was Dr. Keeling and why is his data important? (Internet search) Dr. Keeling was the first person to develop a method to measure CO2 levels in the air, which was first found to be 310 ppm. His data is the first reading we have of CO2 levels in the air, which we can then compare to any future readings. 7. Following Dr. Keeling’s Green data points you will see data points in Orange . Look at the key at the top to determine where the following data points were collected. a. Where were the Orange data points collected? Law Dome Ice Core b. Where were the Light Blue data points collected? Vostok Ice Core

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