ClimateBits: Carbon Dioxide

This video gives an overview of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels since the Mauna Loa record began in 1958. The time series has natural increases and decreases due to the seasonal cycle with a long-term trend toward rising levels of CO₂ in the atmosphere. The natural seasonal cycle is explained using satellite imagery of vegetation on land and in the ocean: when more terrestrial plants are growing during Northern Hemisphere spring and summer, they use carbon dioxide in photosynthesis and atmospheric CO₂ levels decrease. During winter when Northern Hemisphere terrestrial plants are dormant, they stop using CO₂ and release some of it back to the atmosphere causing increased CO₂ in the atmosphere. Satellite imagery of atmospheric CO₂ since 2002 shows the long-term increase. The Mauna Loa CO₂ record first reached 400ppm in May, 2013 and has been increasingly above 400ppm since then.

Length of dataset: 2:46