June 2010 Atmospheric CO2 Content - 392.04 ppm; 2009 - 389.43; 2008 - 387.88

[hatrack]

http://co2now.org/

[Deep13]

1. .

:banghead:

[Oregone]

2. Its life and life only

No biggie crew

[joshcryer]

3. Arctic is going to be irrevocibly changed.

Nothing can be done about it.

[jpak]

4. hope i die before i get old

[GliderGuider]

5. The ten-year rolling average of increase is around 0.5% a year.

At that rate we would pass 450 ppm in 30 years. But the rate of increase also seems to be increasing by about 0.005% per year (i.e. the second derivative is positive). If that holds true, then unless we get fossil fuel consumption under control, we could see 750 ppm by the end of the century.

One of the big questions is whether the oceans are losing their ability to absorb carbon. If that's happening, we could see the second derivative (the rate of change of the rate of change) trend upward over the next few decades. Not good.

[joshcryer]

6. I think there is a distinct possiblity that the sinks are filling up.

There are two relatively recent papers on the subject, both contradict one another, meaning the verdict is still arguably out on it. However, what is disconcerting is that the paper that says the sinks are happy isn't as robust as the paper that says the sinks are not.

What makes me think they're filling up is the fact that we have flatlined for the past year or so with regards to emissions, but the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere remains on the rise.

BTW nice to see you around (I know you still post on DU but haven't seen you much in E&E, check out the arctic sea ice threads, they're awesome).