Based at Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee, this Website is the US Department of Energy's "primary global-change data and information analysis center" and is a central source for many Carbon Dioxide-related resources. Among those resources are several we have reviewed, for example, the Catalog of Databases and Reports (reviewed in the
June 24, 1998 Scout Report for Science & Engineering) and Carbon Dioxide Emission Estimates (reviewed in the
March 4, 1998 Scout Report for Science & Engineering). The CDIAC site offers a wealth of information, including "records of the concentrations of carbon dioxide and other radiatively active gases in the atmosphere; the role of the terrestrial biosphere and the oceans in the biogeochemical cycles of greenhouse gases; emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere; long-term climate trends; the effects of elevated carbon dioxide on vegetation; and the vulnerability of coastal areas to rising sea level." To get a feel for the research summaries and data available at the CDIAC site, see the Products section (describes the research projects associated with CDIAC as well as links to those data sets); the New section (offers a hyperlinked list of new data products); the Top 10 section (offers a hyperlinked list of Frequently Requested Global Change Products); or any of the specific project sections: FACE (Free Air CO2 Enrichment), NARSTO (a non-binding, tri-national, public/private alliance), OCEANS (Survey of CO2 in the Oceans), or AmeriFlux (long-term CO2 flux measurements of the Americas). This is an outstanding resource for those seeking global data (or research summaries) on the status of carbon dioxide in several components of the earth's ecosystems.
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