Carbon Dioxide Gallery

History of changes in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide taken for direct measurements made in Mauna Loa, Hawaii since 1958.

Changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and comparison to the annual flux of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere. Because rising carbon dioxide levels have increased the efficiency of some natural carbon sinks, the net flux of carbon staying in the atmosphere is currently ~40% lower than fossil fuel emissions each year.

Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere over both the last 1000 years and the preceding 400,000 years. Over long times, carbon dioxide influences and responds to the ice age cycles.

Rising rates of carbon dioxide release from various man-made sources.

Contributions to carbon releases from various regions.

History of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the last 500 million years. Note that the present day is on the left hand side of this plot.

Shows the timescales over which emitted carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere. Mixing in the biosphere and oceans remove 70-85% of emissions after 200 years, but the remainder establishes a new equilibrium that may persist for hundreds of thousands of years.

Hypothetical emissions scenarios through which atmospheric carbon dioxide levels might be made to stabilize at specific target levels. Note that in all cases presented here, carbon emissions must start to decline before 2100 to reach these targets.

Comparison of dollars GDP earned per kilogram of fossil fuel carbon emitted for the world's 20 largest economies. This is a measure of how efficiently an economy converts fossil fuel consumption into wealth.

Comparison of the per capita fossil fuel usage in the countries with the 20 largest populations. Highly industrialized nations typically consume fossil fuels at a much greater per capita rate than their less industrialized counterparts.