World Meteorological OrganizationWorking together in weather, climate and water

Greenhouse gas observations and analysis

in the WMO/GAW Programme

Oksana Tarasova - WMO; Research Department www.wmo.int/gaw

WMO

Relevance of GAW observations to climate

2

Long records of Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), and Nitrous Oxide (N2O) concentrations all show sharp increases

Carbon Dioxide

Nitrous Oxide

Methane

Measurements before about 1960 are mostly from bubbles trapped in glacial ice. After that, WMO- coordinated instrumental observations abound.

3

What is GAW?

• GAW focuses on global networks for GHGs, ozone, UV, aerosols, selected reactive gases, and precipitation chemistry.

• GAW is a partnership involving contributors from 80 countries.

• GAW is coordinated by the Research Department of WMO under the purview of WMO Commission for Atmospheric Science (CAS)

• Currently GAW coordinates activities and data from 28 Global stations, more than 400 Regional stations, and about 100 Contributing stations (http://gaw.empa.ch/gawsis/)

4

Strategic issuesWMO

•The Sixteenth World Meteorological Congress (16 May - 3 June 2011) recognized the leading of the GAW Programme in the global greenhouse gas observations.

•Side event on Greenhouse Gas observations and analysis during the Congress was very well attended.

• Addendum to the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Strategic Plan: 2008–2015, containing the updated tasks for the time period 2012-2015.

5

GAW Global CO2 & CH4 Monitoring Network Components

6

Need for quality control

•Detect small trends (through DQO)

•Detect small spatial gradients

•Ensure long-term stability of

observations

•Data comparability (on the same

scale)

7

The WMO/GAW global network for carbon dioxide

The network for methane is similar to this.Fifty countries contributed CO2 data to the GAW WDCGG. Approximately 50% of the measurement records are obtained at sites in the NOAA ESRL cooperative air sampling network.

8

Regional and Contributing Networks

3rd Asian GAW Workshop on Greenhouse Gases 29-30 September, Seoul, Republic of KoreaJointly hosted by KMA and KRISS

Networks collaborating with GAW: • NOAA• AGAGE • TCCON

National networks are encouraged to collaborate with the programme (as a contributing network).

9

DQOs for GHG

Component Compatibility goal range in the unpolluted troposphere

CO2 ± 0.1 ppm (± 0.05 ppmin the southern hemisphere) 360 … 420 ppm

δ13C-CO2 ± 0.01 ‰ -7.5 … -9 ‰ vs. VPDB

δ18O-CO2 ± 0.05 ‰ -2 … +2‰ vs. VPDB

∆14C-CO2 ± 1 ‰ 0 … 70‰

O2/N2 ± 2 per meg 250 … -550 per meg

CH4 ± 2 ppb 1700 … 2000 ppb

CO ± 2 ppb 30 … 300 ppb

N2O ± 0.1 ppb 320 … 335 ppb

H2 ± 2 ppb 450 … 600 ppb

SF6 ± 0.02 ppt 5 … 9 ppt

10

Collaboration with GCOS

October 2005 GCOS-GAW Agreement recognizing: WMO/GAW Global Atmospheric CO2 & CH4 Monitoring Network

as Comprehensive Networks of GCOS

September 2011 Amendment to the GCOS-GAW Agreement: Subset of WMO/GAW Global Atmospheric CO2 & CH4 Monitoring

Network

as a Baseline Network of GCOS and

Agreement recognizing: WMO/GAW Global Atmospheric N2O Monitoring Network

as Baseline and Comprehensive Networks of GCOS

11

Conceptual framework of the GAW QA/QC

12

Central Facilities

Five types of central facilities:

• Central Calibration Laboratories

(CCLs)

• Quality Assurance/Science Activity

Centres (QA/SACs)

• World Calibration Centres (WCCs)

• Regional Calibration Centres (RCCs)

• World Data Centres (WDCs)

13

Central Facilities

Variable QA/SAC CCL WCC RCC WDC

CO2 JMA (A/O) ESRL ESRL (round robin)

Empa (audits)

JMA

CO2 isotopes MPI-BGC JMA

CH4 Empa (Am, E/A)

JMA (A/O)

ESRL Empa (Am, E/A)

JMA (A/O)

JMA

N2O UBA ESRL IMK-IFU JMA

CFCs, HCFCs,

HFCs

JMA

SF6 ESRL KMA proposal JMA

H2 MPI-BGC JMA

14

BIPM-GAW joint activities

Designation by WMO of Laboratories under CIPM MRA (19 April 2010)

o Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Centre (PMOD/WRC): for solar irradiance;

o Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA): for surface ozone;

o National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Earth System Research Laboratory (NOAA/ESRL): for carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride and carbon monoxide

The WMO- BIPM workshop on Measurement: Challenges for Global Observation Systems for Climate Change Monitoring: Traceability, Stability and Uncertainty

30 March to 1 April 2010

15

Collaboration with BIPM

Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM), Gas Analysis Working Group (GAWG) hold its

annual meeting in NOAA, Boulder, CO, USA on 27 September 2011

The following key comparisons (GAW CCL/WCCs participate in these comparisons) were proposed:•CCQM-K82 (Methane in air at ambient level)•CCQM-K83 (Halocarbons in air at ambient levels)•CCQM-K84 (Ambient CO)•BIPM.QM-K1 (Ozone)

16

TrainingWMO

The GAW Training and Education Centre, GAWTEC,hosted by Germany, gives two two-week coursesannually for station personnel. In the 20 courses heldsince 2001, 227 were trained on atmosphericchemical and related physical observations.

www.gawtec.de

18 October 2011 – official celebration of 10th

Anniversary of GAWTEC

17

World Data Centre for Greenhouse

Gases

18

Annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletins

Bulletin 1 (March 2006) CO2

global distributionBulletin 2 (November 2006) CH4

global distributionBulletin 3 (November 2007) NOAA's CarbonTracker modelBulletin 4 (November 2008) Montreal ProtocolBulletin 5 (November 2009) Importance of CO2

Bulletin 6 (November 2010) Methane in high latitudes

19

Greenhouse Gas Bulletin 7Role of N2O

20

Biennial WMO/IAEA Meeting of Experts on Carbon Dioxide, Other Greenhouse Gases, and Related Tracer Measurement Techniques

1975

2009

21

WMO

THANK YOU

22