AGAGE GCMD - Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment, Gas Chromatograph Multi Detector datasets, CSIRO Archive - 1993 to present

Brief description

The CSIRO archive of the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) datasets. The AGAGE project is part of the powerful global observing system that has been continuously measuring the composition of the atmosphere at high frequency from chosen coastal sites around the world, providing accurate measurements of trace gases whose lifetimes are long compared to global atmospheric circulation times. This particular dataset represents measurements taken utilizing GC-MD (Gas Chromatograph Multiple Detector) type of instrumentation which contains Electron Capture Detectors (ECD), Flame Ionization Detector (FID) & Mercuric oxide Reduction Detector (MRD). Utilising these it is possible to accurately measure the five biogenic/anthropogenic gases (CH4,N2O,CHCl3,CO & H2) and five anthropogenic gases (CCl3F, CCl2F2, CH3CCl3, CCl2FCClF2 & CCl4). This coupled with the GC-MS dataset covers almost all of the important trace gas species in the Montreal Protocol (e.g. halocarbons such as bromocarbons, CFCs and HCFCs) to protect the ozone layer and almost all of the significant non-CO2 gases in the Kyoto Protocol (e.g. HFCs, methane, and nitrous oxide) to mitigate climate change. AGAGE is the expansion and continuation of the Atmospheric Life Experiment(ALE) 1978-1981 and the Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment(GAGE) 1981-1985. Participating AGAGE stations include Cape Grim (Tasmania), Mace Head (Ireland), Ragged Point (Barbados), Cape Matatula (Samoa) & Trinidad Head (California), with urban stations at SIO (La Jolla, California) and CMAR(Aspendale, Australia). Data is available in yearly files either in Ascii (.C), Ascii decimal date(.C.Dat) or binary file format(.bin). It is also available in a processed form (Courtesy of the Georgia Institute of Technology) to include a Polluted data flag in the decimal date version only. AGAGE also collaborates with the System for Observation of Halogenated Greenhouse Gases in Europe (SOGE), through transfer of AGAGE calibrations and sharing of AGAGE technology, placing AGAGE and SOGE data on common calibration scales with comparable precisions, accuracy and measurement frequency. Soge contributing stations are Monte Simone (Italy), Jungfraujoch (Switzerland), & Ny-Alesund-zeppelin (Norway). AGAGE's network also includes Hateruma Island Japan through a co-operative agreement with the Japanese National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES). The other two collaborative stations are at Shangdianzi, China and Gosan, Jeju Island, South Korea. Shangdianzi started measuring ozone-depleting trace gases and greenhouses gases in 2006, and is a part of SOGE-A project. The Gosan station, started in late 2007, is operated by Seoul National University (SNU).

Lineage

Progress Code: onGoing

Maintenance and Update Frequency: continual

Statement: Processed and corrected to SIO-2005 scale

Notes

Credit
Australian Bureau of Meteorology/Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station (CGBAPS), CSIRO - Marine and Atmospheric Research (CMAR), NASA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of Bristol, Georgia Institute of Technology.

Credit
Paul Krummel

Credit
Paul Fraser

Credit
Paul Steele.