Climate variability as reflected in a regional atmospheric CO₂ record

Abstract

This paper analyses a 15-year long atmospheric CO₂ mixing ratio record measured at a mid-continental, low-elevation station (Hegyh´ats´al, Hungary) to reveal the effect of regional climate variability. While the long-term trend and the temporal fluctuation of the growth rate of CO₂ mixing ratio followthe global tendencies to a large extent, the shorter-term variations show special features. We present the distorted seasonal cycle caused by the seasonality in the atmospheric vertical mixing and the tendentious change in its shape, which can be attributed to the gradual warming and to the resulted prolongation of the growing season. The decreasing summer diurnal amplitude and the decreasing seasonal amplitude in the mixing ratio, furthermore the higher than average summer CO₂ mixing ratio growth rate in the first period of the measurements (1994–2003) with generally rising temperature and decreasing precipitation are explained as the consequence of the reduced activity of the biosphere in the influence area of the station and that of the reduced biomass under environmental conditions getting increasingly unfavourable. The explanation is supported by the colocated tall tower surface–atmosphere CO₂ exchange measurements and by the crop yield statistics of the dominantly agricultural region around the station.