| Summary: | Data are available for four atmospheric trace gases at nine stationary sites and one moving platform (aircraft over Cape Grim, Tasmania, and Bass Strait, between the Australian continent and Tasmania). The trace gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen (H2). Measurements of 13C from CO2 are also included in this database. The nine stationary sites are, from north to south: Alert, Northwest Territories, Canada; Shetland Islands, Scotland; Estevan Point, Bristish Columbia, Canada; Mauna Loa, Hawaii; Cape Ferguson, Australia; Cape Grim, Australia (Tasmania); Macquarie Island, Australia; Mawson, Antarctica; and the South Pole station, Antarctica. CO2 and CH4 are the two most effective anthropogenic greenhouse gases; CO and H2 influence concentrations of the hydroxyl radical (OH), thereby affecting the main sink for atmospheric CH4. H2 is produced in a sequence of reactions following the reaction of OH with CH4. Additional reactions involving these compounds and their importance for atmospheric chemistry are discussed by Langenfelds et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles 16(3), 2002. The 13C isotope data are useful in identifying sources of atmospheric CO2. Details of the instruments and their calibration, analysis procedures, and reporting standards are given in separate readme files for each gas. Additional discussion of calibration and error terms for all four gases and 13C is also provided.
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