How far back can we measure CO2?

800,000 years
Until the 20th century, it certainly hadn’t exceeded 300 ppm, let alone 400 ppm, for at least 800,000 years. That’s how far back scientists have been able to measure CO2 directly in bubbles of ancient air trapped in Antarctic ice cores.

How do we know how much CO2 was in the atmosphere in the past?

The Earth also gives us clues about the levels of greenhouse gases that existed in the past. For example, ancient air bubbles trapped deep in the ice of Greenland and Antarctica reveal how much carbon dioxide was present long ago.

What is the history of CO2 in the atmosphere?

CO2 and Past Climates The most distant period in time for which we have estimated CO2 levels is around the Ordovician period, 500 million years ago. At the time, atmospheric CO2 concentration was at a whopping 3000 to 9000 ppm! CO2 levels over the past 500 million years.

When did we start measuring CO2 levels?

1958
When scientists (specifically, Ralph Keeling’s father) first started measuring atmospheric CO2 consistently in 1958, at the pristine Mauna Loa mountaintop observatory in Hawaii, the CO2 level stood at 316 parts per million (ppm), just a little higher than the pre-industrial level of 280 ppm.

Where does CO2 data come from prior to 1958?

Campaign Data Atmospheric CO2 concentrations (ppm) derived from flask air samples taken aboard aircraft at 700, 500 and 300 hPa over North Pacific, Alaska, and Arctic Ocean from April 1958 through December 1961, spanning 11° 54’N to 86° 18’N latitude, and 105° 18’W to 166° 12’W longitude.

Why have atmospheric CO2 concentrations fluctuated over the past 400000 years?

The levels remained below 300 ppm for more than 400,000 years. But in the last century, the burning of fossil fuels has rapidly driven atmospheric CO2 levels to new heights, overriding the natural cycle. As a result, there was a brief drop below 400 ppm this past summer.

How far back in Earth history must we go to find CO2 levels similar to those observed today what was the world like at that time?

A 2011 study in the journal Paleoceanography found that atmospheric CO2 levels may have been comparable to today’s as recently as sometime between 2 and 4.6 million years ago, during the Pliocene epoch, which saw the arrival of Homo habilis, a possible ancestor of modern homo sapiens, and when herds of giant, elephant- …