The Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) is an

atmospheric An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

baseline station on Mauna Loa, on the island of Hawaii, located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...

of Hawaii.

The observatory

Mauna Loa CO2 monthly mean concentration

Since 1958, initially under the direction of

Charles Keeling Charles David Keeling (April 20, 1928 – June 20, 2005) was an American scientist whose recording of carbon dioxide at the Mauna Loa Observatory confirmed Svante Arrhenius's proposition (1896) of the possibility of anthropogenic contribution to ...

, followed by his son

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

and later

Elmer Robinson Elmer Edwin "Rob-Rob" Robinson (October 3, 1894 – June 9, 1982) was the 33rd mayor of San Francisco, California. A Republican, he served as San Francisco's mayor from January 1948 until January 1956. Robinson was born in the Richmond ...

, Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) has been monitoring and collecting data relating to atmospheric change, and is known especially for the continuous monitoring of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is sometimes referred to as the Keeling Curve. The observatory is under the

Earth System Research Laboratory The Earth System Research Laboratories (ESRL) is an alliance of four NOAA scientific labs, all located in the David Skaggs Research Center on the Department of Commerce campus in Boulder, Colorado. Organized under NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and ...

which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). According to the NOAA, Mauna Loa is the world's oldest continuous CO₂ monitoring station, and the world's primary benchmark site for measurement of the gas. The latest observation of CO₂ concentrations from MLO can be found at web sites along with data from other sites and trends at Mauna Loa. The MLO levels can be compared with other sites in the global monitoring network. MLO has activities at five locations on the Big Island. The primary observing site is located at the level on Mauna Loa's north slope () about north of the summit

Mokuaweoweo Mauna Loa ( or ; Hawaiian: ; en, Long Mountain) is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The largest subaerial volcano (as opposed to subaqueous volcanoes) in both mass and v ...

. The Mauna Loa Solar Observatory and NSF's

Global Oscillations Network Group The Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) is a worldwide network of six identical telescopes, designed to have 24/7 observations of the Sun. The network serves multiple purposes, including the provision of operation data for use in space weather ...

( GONG) station share this site. The administration and some data processing are done in the Hilo, Hawaii office. Kulani Mauka is a rain collection site. Cape Kumukahi is a flask sample site located on the easternmost point of Hawaii. At the Hilo airport, weekly balloon-borne instruments are prepared and launched to measure ozone from the surface to usually over . The observatory site is also a temporary home to a

cosmic microwave background In Big Bang cosmology the cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR) is electromagnetic radiation that is a remnant from an early stage of the universe, also known as "relic radiation". The CMB is faint cosmic background radiation filling all space ...

observatory called AMiBA. Mauna Loa was originally chosen as a monitoring site because, located far from any continent, the air was sampled and is a good average for the central Pacific. Being high, it is above the inversion layer where most of the local effects are present and there was already a rough road to the summit built by the military. The contamination from local volcanic sources is sometimes detected at the observatory, then removed from background data.

References

External links

NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory
official web site
Global Monitoring Division, Boulder, CO, USA

Worldwide Carbon Dioxide concentrations - in real time
{{Authority control Observatory Geophysical observatories Meteorological observatories Buildings and structures in Hawaii County, Hawaii fr:Mauna Loa#Observatoires

The observatory

See also

References

External links