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https://theconversation.com/mauna-loa-observatory-captured-the-reality-of-climate-change-the-us-plans-to-shut-it-down-260403>
"The greenhouse effect was discovered more than 150 years ago and the first
scientific paper linking carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere with climate
change was published in 1896.
But it wasn’t until the 1950s that scientists could definitively detect the
effect of human activities on the Earth’s atmosphere.
In 1956, United States scientist Charles Keeling chose Hawaii’s Mauna Loa
volcano for the site of a new atmospheric measuring station. It was ideal,
located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and at high altitude away from the
confounding influence of population centres.
Data collected by Mauna Loa from 1958 onward let us clearly see the evidence of
climate change for the first time. The station samples the air and measures
global CO₂ levels. Charles Keeling and his successors used this data to produce
the famous Keeling curve – a graph showing carbon dioxide levels increasing
year after year.
But this precious record is in peril. US President Donald Trump has decided to
defund the observatory recording the data, as well as the widespread US
greenhouse gas monitoring network and other climate measuring sites.
We can’t solve the existential problem of climate change if we can’t track the
changes. Losing Mauna Loa would be a huge loss to climate science. If it shuts,
other observatories such as Australia’s Kennaook/Cape Grim will become even
more vital."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
