Search

The NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) measures atmospheric hydrogen (H 2) in grab samples collected weekly as flask pairs at over 50 sites in the Cooperative Global Air Sampling Network. Measurements representative of background air sampling show higher H 2 in recent years at all latitudes. The marine boundary layer (MBL) global mean H 2 was 552.8 ppb in 2021, 20.2 ± 0.2 ppb higher compared to 2010. A 10 ppb or more increase over the 2010–2021 average annual cycle was detected in 2016 for MBL zonal means in the tropics and in the Southern Hemisphere. Carbon monoxide measurements in the same-air samples suggest large biomass burning events in different regions likely contributed to the observed interannual variability at different latitudes. The NOAA H 2 measurements from 2009 to 2021 are now based on the World Meteorological Organization Global Atmospheric Watch (WMO GAW) H 2 mole fraction calibration scale, developed and maintained by the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC), Jena, Germany. GML maintains eight H 2 primary calibration standards to propagate the WMO scale. These are gravimetric hydrogen-in-air mixtures in electropolished stainless steel cylinders (Essex Industries, St. Louis, MO), which are stable for H 2. These mixtures were calibrated at the MPI-BGC, the WMO Central Calibration Laboratory (CCL) for H 2 , in late 2020 and span the range 250–700 ppb. We have used the CCL assignments to propagate the WMO H 2 calibration scale to NOAA air measurements performed using gas chromatography and helium pulse discharge detector instruments since 2009. To propagate the scale, NOAA uses a hierarchy of secondary and tertiary standards, which consist of high-pressure whole-air mixtures in aluminum cylinders, calibrated against the primary and secondary standards, respectively. Hydrogen at the parts per billion level has a tendency to increase in aluminum cylinders over time. We fit the calibration histories of these standards with zero-, first-, or second-order polynomial functions of time and use the time-dependent mole fraction assignments on the WMO scale to reprocess all tank air and flask air H 2 measurement records. The robustness of the scale propagation over multiple years is evaluated with the regular analysis of target air cylinders and with long-term same-air measurement comparison efforts with WMO GAW partner laboratories. Long-term calibrated, globally distributed, and freely accessible measurements of H 2 and other gases and isotopes continue to be essential to track and interpret regional and global changes in the atmosphere composition. The adoption of the WMO H 2 calibration scale and subsequent reprocessing of NOAA atmospheric data constitute a significant improvement in the NOAA H 2 measurement records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory measures atmospheric hydrogen (H2) in grab-samples collected weekly as flask pairs at over 50 sites in the Global Cooperative Air Sampling Network. These NOAA H2 measurements from 2009 to 2021 are publicly available. Measurements representative of background air sampling show higher H2 in recent years at all latitudes. The marine boundary layer (MBL) global mean H2 was 20.2 ±0.2 ppb higher in 2021 compared to 2010. A 10 ppb or more increase over the 2010-2021 average annual cycle was detected in 2016 for MBL zonal means in the tropics and in the Southern Hemisphere. Carbon monoxide measurements in the same air samples suggest large biomass burning events in different regions likely contributed to the observed interannual variability at different latitudes. A major focus in recent years involved the adoption of the World Meteorological Organization Global Atmospheric Watch (WMO GAW) H2 mole fraction X2009 calibration scale, developed and maintained by the Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC), Jena, Germany. GML maintains eight H2 primary calibration standards to propagate the MPI scale. These are gravimetric hydrogen-in-air mixtures in electropolished stainless steel cylinders (Essex Industries, st. Louis, MO) which are stable for H2. These mixtures were calibrated at the MPI-BGC, the WMO Central Calibration Laboratory (CCL) for H2, in late 2020 and span the range 250-700 ppb. We have used the CCL assignments to propagate the MPI X2009 H2 calibration scale to NOAA air measurements performed using Gas Chromatography-Helium Pulse Discharge Detector instruments since 2009. To propagate the scale, NOAA uses a hierarchy of secondary and tertiary standards, which are high pressure tanks with whole air mixtures calibrated against the primary and secondary standards respectively. NOAA secondary and tertiary standards are stored in aluminum cylinders, which have a tendency to grow H2 over time. We fit the calibration histories of these standards with 0-2nd order polynomial functions of time and use the time-dependent mole fraction assignments on the MPI X2009 to reprocess all tank air and flask air measurement records. The robustness of the scale propagation over multiple years is evaluated with the regular analysis of target air cylinders and with long-term same air measurement comparison efforts with WMO GAW partner laboratories. Long-term calibrated, globally distributed and freely accessible measurements of H2 and other gasses and isotopes continue to be essential to track and interpret regional and global changes in the atmosphere composition. The adoption of the MPI X2009 H2 calibration scale and subsequent reprocessing of NOAA atmospheric data constitute a significant improvement in the NOAA H2 measurement records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1999, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has been coordinating a multi-laboratory comparison of measurements of long-lived greenhouse gases in whole air samples collected at the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Alert Observatory located in the Canadian High Arctic (82 ∘ 28 ′ N, 62 ∘ 30 ′ W). In this paper, we evaluate the measurement agreement of atmospheric CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, SF 6 , and stable isotopes of CO 2 (δ13 C, δ18 O) between leading laboratories from seven independent international institutions. The measure of success is linked to target goals for network compatibility outlined by the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) GAW greenhouse gas measurement community. Overall, based on ∼ 8000 discrete flask samples, we find that the co-located atmospheric CO 2 and CH 4 measurement records from Alert by CSIRO, MPI-BGC, SIO, UHEI-IUP, and ECCC versus NOAA (the designated reference laboratory) are generally consistent with the WMO compatibility goals of ± 0.1 ppm CO 2 and ± 2 ppb CH 4 over the 17-year period (1999–2016), although there are periods where differences exceed target levels and persist as systematic bias for months or years. Consistency with the WMO goals for N 2 O, SF 6 , and stable isotopes of CO 2 (δ13 C, δ18 O) has not been demonstrated. Additional analysis of co-located comparison measurements between CSIRO and SIO versus NOAA or INSTAAR (for the isotopes of CO 2) at other geographical sites suggests that the findings at Alert for CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, and δ13 C–CO 2 could be extended across the CSIRO, SIO, and NOAA observing networks. The primary approach to estimate an overall measurement agreement level was carried out by pooling the differences of all individual laboratories versus the designated reference laboratory and determining the 95th percentile range of these data points. Using this approach over the entire data record, our best estimate of the measurement agreement range is -0.51 to + 0.53 ppm for CO 2 , -0.09 ‰ to + 0.07 ‰ for δ13 C, -0.50 ‰ to + 0.58 ‰ for δ18 O, -4.86 to + 6.16 ppb for CH 4 , -0.75 to + 1.20 ppb for N 2 O, and -0.14 to + 0.09 ppt for SF 6. A secondary approach of using the average of 2 standard deviations of the means for all flask samples taken in each individual sampling episode provided similar results. These upper and lower limits represent our best estimate of the measurement agreement at the 95 % confidence level for these individual laboratories, providing more confidence for using these datasets in various scientific applications (e.g., long-term trend analysis). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]