NOAA’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index

OneNOAA Science Seminar Series

Title:
NOAA's Annual Greenhouse Gas Index  

Speaker:
Dr. James Butler, Director of Global Monitoring at NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), Boulder, Colorado

Sponsor:
NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS); coordinator is Tracy Gill. If interested in obtaining a PDF of the slides and/or the recording, contact Tracy Gill  .

Remote Access:
Please register at: https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/aggi/event/registration.html
After registering, you will get a confirmation email with a link to the webinar. 
If you have not used Adobe connect before, it is best to test your ability to use Adobe Connect, before the webinar,  https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm . Audio is over the computer, so adjust the volume on your computer speakers or headset. Users should use either google, IE or Edge on Windows or Safari if using a Mac. Questions will be addressed in the chat window.  If interested in obtaining a PDF of the slides and/or the mp4 recording, contact Tracy Gill.   

Abstract: 
For the past several decades, NOAA has measured and monitored all of the long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  These global measurements have provided input to databases, analyses, and various relevant products, including national and international climate assessments.  To make these data more useful and available, NOAA fourteen years ago released its Annual Greenhouse Gas Index(AGGI),  http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/aggi. This index, based on the climate forcing properties of long-lived greenhouse gases,was designed to enhance the connection between scientists and society by providing a normalized standard that can be easily understood and followed. These long-lived gases capture most of radiative forcing and uncertainty in their measurement is very small. This allows us to provide a robust measure and assessment of the long-term, radiative influence of greenhouse gases.  Continuous measurements are made at baseline climate observatories (Pt. Barrow, Alaska; Mauna Loa, Hawaii; American Samoa; and the South Pole) and weekly flask air samples are collected through a global network of about 60 sites, including an international cooperative program for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The gas samples are analyzed at NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, using WMO standard reference gases prepared by NOAA GML. The AGGI is normalized to 1.00 in 1990, the Kyoto Climate Protocol baseline year. In 2018, the AGGI was1.43, indicating that global radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases had increased 43% since 1990. During the 1980s CO2 accounted for about 50-60% of the annual increase in radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases, whereas, since 2000, it has accounted for 85-90% of this increase each year.  After nearly a decade of virtually level concentrations in the atmosphere, methane (CH4) has been increasing measurably over the since 2007,as did its contribution to radiative forcing.  In this presentation,preliminary values for 2020 will be evaluated and discussed with respect to the contributions from CO2, CH4, nitrous oxide (N2O), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),and other emerging greenhouse gases.    

Bio:
Dr. James Butler is Director of NOAA's Global Monitoring Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, where he has conducted research on climate forcing and ozone depletion for over 30 years. In his current capacity, Dr. Butler oversees the nation’s continuing measurements of atmospheric constituents that affect the world’s climate, including greenhouse and ozone-depleting gases, aerosols, and surface radiation. Dr.Butler’s published works address the distribution and cycling of gases in the atmosphere, their production and consumption by the ocean, their exchange across the air-sea interface, their distribution in polar snow, and methods for their analysis. He is a regular contributor to international documents on stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric chemistry, and global warming.    

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(Dr. James Butler, Director of Global Monitoring, NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado)