A spectroscopic study of the global space-time distribution of atmospheric CO

Abstract

The total background atmospheric column of CO was investigated spectroscopically using the Sun as a light source. According to north temperate zone observations of 1970–1976, the content of CO exhibits seasonal variations, it being 1.5 times higher in spring than in late summer. The measurements taken in the Antarctic during four months have also shown the presence of a minimum in the CO content in January and February, i.e., when it is summer in the southern hemisphere. The content of the gas in the north temperate zone in March and April was three times higher and in June and July two times higher than that in the Antarctic. A comparison with the data obtained by Shaw in the U.S.A. in 1952 speaks of an increase in the background content of CO in winter at a rate of about 2% a year and of its remaining constant in summer. Analysis of all the data leads to the conclusion that a noticeable role is played by anthropogenic factors in the cycle of CO in the northern hemisphere in winter and that natural processes prevail in summer.