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Increased concentration and vertical distribution of carbon dioxide in the stratosphere

Abstract

Although many measurements of the abundance of CO2 in the troposphere have been made, knowledge of its stratospheric abundances and variability is sparse. Here we report mid-latitude vertical profiles of CO2, up to 35 km, measured in 1979, 1982 and 1984 by analysing cryogenically collected balloon samples supplemented by air samples taken aboard aircraft. CO2 mixing ratios are not constant with altitude but rather decrease by 7 p.p.m.v. (parts per 106 by volume) from the tropopause to the mid-stratosphere. The growth rate of the atmospheric CO2 abundance caused by anthropogenic emission, which varies between 1.0 and 1.5 p.p.m.v. yr–1 at ground level1, is also observed at all stratospheric heights up to 35 km. The shape of the profiles suggests that excess CO2 above 20 km enters the stratosphere through tropical upwelling rather than mid-latitude diffusion. The time lag of this height region with respect to the tropospheric CO2 level is 5 yr.

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Bischof, W., Borchers, R., Fabian, P. et al. Increased concentration and vertical distribution of carbon dioxide in the stratosphere. Nature 316, 708–710 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/316708a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/316708a0

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