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Carbon dioxide levels now higher than at any time in the past 3.6 million years

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greenhouse gases

NOAA's Mauna Loa observatory is a premier research facility that has continuously monitored and collected atmospheric data since the 1950s. This photo, taken in 2019, shows the observatory on its perch at 11,000 feet elevation on Hawaii's tallest mountain, which enables sampling of "background" air that is free of local pollution.

Rise of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere continues unabated

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measuring and modeling climate

Atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa Observatory reached a seasonal peak of 417.1 parts per million for 2020 in May, the highest monthly reading ever recorded, according to scientists from NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. (2019 photo of observatory grounds, Big Island, Hawaii.)

Saildrone is first to circumnavigate Antarctica, in search for carbon dioxide

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climate science

Saildrone 1020 approaches Point Bluff, New Zealand, in stormy conditions after completing the first unmanned circumnavigation of Antarctica in early August 2019. It sailed more than 13,000 miles around the Southern Ocean in 196 days.

Carbon dioxide levels in atmosphere hit record high in May

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Atmospheric carbon dioxide continued its rapid rise in 2019, with the average for May peaking at 414.7 parts per million (ppm) at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory, shown here, on Hawaii's Big Island.

New buoy in American Samoa opens a window into a changing ocean

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NOAA, the National Park Service and other partners launched a new buoy to measure ocean carbon dioxide concentrations and other data in Fagatele Bay in the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa.

Video: What is the carbon cycle?

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The ocean is a carbon sink.

Global carbon dioxide growth in 2018 reached 4th highest on record

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greenhouse gases

Mauna Loa Observatory is a premier atmospheric research facility that has been continuously monitoring and collecting data related to atmospheric change since the 1950's.

Global ocean is absorbing more carbon from fossil fuel emissions

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published research

Scientists raise a rosette loaded with water samples to measure carbon dioxide in the ocean.

Carbon dioxide levels breach another threshold at Mauna Loa

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Sunset at NOAA's Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory

Sailing drone captures dawn while crossing the Bering Strait

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A NOAA unmanned sailing vehicle captured this dawn photo in the Bering Straits

Study: Global plant growth surging alongside carbon dioxide

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A discovery by a NOAA scientist has led to a new way of estimating how much carbon dioxide is taken up by plant communities, such as the Amazon rainforest.

Carbon dioxide levels rose at record pace for 2nd straight year

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NOAA's Mauna Loa Baseline Atmospheric Observatory sits at 11,140 feet, on top of Hawaii's tallest volcano, which enables scientists to collect air samples free of local pollutants.

Carbon dioxide levels race past troubling milestone

September 30, 2016

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greenhouse gases

Measurements taken by NOAA scientists show carbon dioxide levels are now permanently above 400 parts per million — even at the South Pole, which is the last place on Earth to register the impacts of increasing emissions from fossil fuel consumption. This photo shows NOAA's South Pole Observatory in the distance.

Carbon Dioxide at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory reaches new milestone: Tops 400 ppm

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Welcome to noaa.gov

Which emits more carbon dioxide: Volcanoes or human activities?

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Redoubt Volcano viewed from the northwest following the April 4, 2009 eruption. Steam rises from the summit crater, pyroclastic flow and surge deposits drape the flanks, and lahar deposits cover the Drift River Valley. Credit: R. G. McGimsey, USGS.

Warming due to carbon dioxide jumped by half in 25 years

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greenhouse gases

Fossil fuel extraction in North Dakota's Bakken field in 2014.

West Coast prepares for ‘double whammy’ threat to ocean health

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ocean acidification

Rising levels of acidity in the ocean and growing areas of low-oxygen waters are a “double whammy” threat for fishing industries, ecosystems and economies along the U.S. West Coast.

American Chemical Society honors measurement set at NOAA observatory

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Mauna Loa Observatory is a premier atmospheric research facility that has been continuously monitoring and collecting data related to atmospheric change since the 1950's.