CO2 build up rates and concentrations over North and South polar regions

[jon]

Thank you for providing the OCO-2 Carbon Dioxide buildup and accumulation in parts per million per year for the globe for years 2014 to 2018 at a confidence rate of 95%, showing an continuous ramp increase of 2 to ~3 ppm per year taking current accumulation totals from ~395 to ~407 ppm for column averaged dry-air CO2 mole fraction. Data should also be provided to show global regions North of +60 or South of -60 degrees with an understanding that these colder atmospheric regions of the Earth are those more suitable for absorbing higher levels of CO2 than the warmer regions, so one can reasonably expect the polar regions to be most critical key indicators of rate of change and total CO2 concentrations into polar waters that circulate. Of concern is how the exchange of concentrated CO2 in polar region atmosphere to the polar region cold water will result in higher levels of sequestration of CO2 into cold waters to be later liberated at very high levels. The question is thus, how and when will CO2 over polar region data be made available, perhaps in a visualization suitable for conveying measured increases in the rate of change and projections influencing contributions to heat gain as a result of CO2 gains. Thank you

[GES DISCx - jimacker]

John,

Thank you for your comments. OCO-2 uses sunlight to perform its measurements, which limits coverage in the polar regions.

"A set of eight measurements are made along a narrow ground track as the spacecraft travels about 2.25 km along its orbit track, providing spatial resolution of <3 km2 per sounding. XCO2 is retrieved only when there is sufficient light (solar zenith angles less than 85°) and when there are no optically thick clouds "

The above is quoted from this paper: The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 early science investigations of regional carbon dioxide fluxes.

There are ground stations located in the polar regions, including the South Pole, and high-latitude stations in both Norway and Canada.

[jon]

Thank you for your response regarding availability of data measurements of CO2 at the polar regions, using the OCO-2 instrument. Understanding the polar regions receive ~twenty-four hours of daylight at specific times of the year for example on ~21 June the North pole is illuminated 24 hours continuously by the sun and on ~21 Dec the South pole is illuminated continuously by the sun for 24 hours. Insolation at the top of the atmospheric column should be adequate at these time intervals for the instrument to function and capture data. Regarding CO2 data from polar ground stations, underwater mass spectrometers, and or aircraft sampling, it would be most helpful for an integrated analytic assessment for the data to be discoverable, accessible and useful. Of note are the estimated projections in contrast to the actual measurements. A new issuance of the projected climate model resulting from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project is to be issued by the IPCC later in 2021, see details at https://www.ipcc.ch/calendar/ and https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads ... AC6_en.pdf
Thus the key interest in space based polar CO2 data. Thank you