Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-129
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2023-129
12 May 2023
 | 12 May 2023
Status: a revised version of this preprint is currently under review for the journal ESSD.

12 years of continuous atmospheric O2, CO2 and APO data from Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory in the United Kingdom

Karina E. Adcock, Penelope A. Pickers, Andrew C. Manning, Grant L. Forster, Leigh S. Fleming, Thomas Barningham, Philip A. Wilson, Elena A. Kozlova, Marica Hewitt, Alex J. Etchells, and Andy J. Macdonald

Abstract. We present analyses of a 12-year time series of continuous atmospheric measurements of O2 and CO2 at the Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory in the United Kingdom. These measurements are combined into the term Atmospheric Potential Oxygen (APO), a tracer that is conservative with respect to terrestrial biosphere processes. The CO2, O2 and APO datasets discussed are hourly averages between May 2010 and December 2021. We include details of our measurement system and calibration procedures, and describe the main long-term and seasonal features of the time series. The 2-minute repeatability of the measurement system is approximately ±3 per meg for O2 and approximately ±0.005 ppm for CO2. The time series shows average long-term trends of 2.40 ppm yr-1 (2.38 to 2.42) for CO2, -24.0 per meg yr-1 for O2 (-24.3 to -23.8) and -11.4 per meg yr-1 (-11.7 to -11.3) for APO, over the 12-year period. The average seasonal cycle peak-to-peak amplitudes are 16 ppm for CO2, 134 per meg for O2, and 68 per meg for APO. The diurnal cycles of CO2 and O2 vary considerably between seasons. The datasets are publicly available at https://doi.org/10.18160/Z0GF-MCWH (Adcock et al., 2023) and have many current and potential scientific applications in constraining carbon cycle processes, such as investigating air-sea exchange of CO2 and O2, and top-down quantification of fossil fuel CO2.

Karina E. Adcock et al.

Status: final response (author comments only)

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on essd-2023-129', Anonymous Referee #1, 10 Jun 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on essd-2023-129', Anonymous Referee #2, 15 Jun 2023

Karina E. Adcock et al.

Data sets

12-years of continuous atmospheric O2, CO2 and APO data from Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory in the United Kingdom K. Adcock, A. Manning, P. Pickers, G. Forster, L. Fleming, T. Baningham, P. Wilson, E. Kozlova, M. Hewitt, A. Etchells, and A. MacDonald https://doi.org/10.18160/Z0GF-MCWH

Karina E. Adcock et al.

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Short summary
We present a 12-year time series of continuous atmospheric measurements of O2 and CO2 at the Weybourne Atmospheric Observatory in the United Kingdom. These measurements are combined into the term Atmospheric Potential Oxygen (APO), a tracer that is not influenced by land biosphere processes. The datasets show a long-term increasing trend in CO2 and decreasing trends in O2 and APO between 2010 and 2021. We also describe the typical seasonal and daily variations in CO2, O2 and APO.