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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 2, NUMBER 2, FEBRUARY 1989

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
TREND ANALYSIS

Item #d89feb67

"The Isotopic Composition of Methane in Polar Ice Cores," H. Craig (Isotope Lab., Scripps Inst. Oceanog., Univ. Calif., La Jolla CA 92093), C.C. Chou et al., Science, 242(4885), 1535-1539, Dec. 16, 1988.

The atmospheric mixing ratio of methane, an effective greenhouse gas, is presently about 1.7 ppmv and if current rates continue it is expected to double in the next 60 years. Data show that in situ microbiology or chemistry has not altered the ice-core methane concentrations, and the carbon-13 to carbon-12 ratio of atmospheric CH₄ in ice from 100 years and 300 years ago was about 2 per mil lower than at present. The ice-core data indicate that anthropogenic burning of the earth's biomass is the principal cause of the recent 13CH₄ enrichment.

Item #d89feb68

Discussion of Scotto et al. article on the recent decrease in UVB radiation, Science, 242(4882), 1111-1112, Nov. 25, 1988.

Item #d89feb69

"Infrared Measurements of Atmospheric Gases Above Mauna Loa, Hawaii, in February 1987." C.P. Rinsland (NASA Langley Res. Ctr., MS 401A, Hampton VA 23665), A. Goldman et al., J. Geophys. Res., 93(D10), 12,607-12,626, Oct. 20, 1988.

Presents the results of a quantitative analysis of absorptions by a number of minor and trace atmospheric gases in 0.02 cm -1 resolution solar absorption spectra. Results indicate that Mauna Loa is a favorable site for infrared monitoring and particularly for measuring the tropospheric volume mixing ratios of long-lived gases, since the high altitude of the tropopause reduces corrections required to account for the decrease in volume mixing ratio in the stratosphere.

Item #d89feb70

"Anthropogenic Warming in North Alaska?" P.J. Michaels (Dept. Environ. Sci., Univ. Virginia, Charlottesville VA 22903), D.E. Sappington, D.E. Stooksbury, J. Climate, 1(9), 942-945, Sep. 1988.

Using permafrost boreholes, Lachenbruch and Marshall recently reported evidence for a 2-4 ° C warming in North Alaska occurring at some undetermined time during the last century, and the result is popularly ascribed to anthropogenic warming by greenhouse gases. This interpretation is refuted by the examination of data described in this note, which indicates that any warming detected from the permafrost record occurred before the major emissions of thermally active trace gases.

Item #d89feb71

"Variations in the Arctic, Antarctic, and Global Sea Ice Covers During 1978-1987 as Observed with the Nimbus 7 Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer," P. Gloersen (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Ctr., Oceans Lab., Greenbelt MD), W.J. Campbell, J. Geophys., 93(C9), 10,666-10,674, Sep. 15, 1988.

During this 9-year period, no significant trends were found in the ice areas of the arctic and antarctic peaks or in their sum, the global ice area. Other results from this study, along with global temperature change studies, lend support to the thesis that climatic changes in the global average temperature might be detectable by observing variations in global sea ice extent.

Item #d89feb72

"Trends in Atmospheric Ozone: Conflicts Between Models and SBUV Data," D.W. Rusch (Atmos. & Space Phys. Lab., Univ. Colorado, Boulder CO), R.T. Clancy, J. Geophys. Res., 93(D7), 8431-8437, July 20, 1988.

Concentrates on comparing model predictions of the altitude dependence of ozone trends and trends in the seasonal variation of ozone to the SBUV measurements of these parameters. Discusses differences and possible errors in the model parameters and the data set.