GHG Monitoring Capabilities

NOAA collects data via aircraft, mobile laboratories, ships, monitoring stations, and other measurements and models. The data is used to research GHG sources, quantify emissions by region and sector, and improve emission inventories for better decision-making.

Download the State of the Science Fact Sheet PDF

NOAA-Sponsored GHG Emission Trackers & Tools

• NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory's Emission Tracker for potent GHGs
  Provides measurement-based estimates of emissions of greenhouse gases and other atmospheric trace gases that impact climate, stratospheric ozone, and air quality over the contiguous United States.
• CarbonTracker CO₂
  CarbonTracker is a carbon dioxide (CO₂) measurement and modeling system that tracks global sources (emissions to the atmosphere) and sinks (removal from the atmosphere) of carbon dioxide.
• CarbonTracker for Methane (CH₄)
  CarbonTracker for methane (CH₄) is a measurement and modeling system that provides global-scale estimates of methane emissions that come from microorganisms, fossil fuels, and organic matter.
• CarbonTracker-Lagrange (CT-L)
  CarbonTracker-Lagrange (CT-L) is a new regional modeling framework for estimating North American greenhouse gas emissions and uptake fluxes.
• Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutants Emissions System (GRA2PES)
  NOAA and NIST collaboratively developed a new capability to measure and model U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases and hazardous air pollutants. The main goals are to support research and development of GHG emission reduction plans and strategies.
• Urban GHG Emissions Measurement and Monitoring System (Urban-GEMMS)
  An operational capability to measure and model U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases. This is prototype of the Integrated Urban U.S. Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Monitoring, and Information System.
• U.S. GHG Center
  A new web portal designed to make it easier to find data, information, and computer models from multiple agencies in one location. The site offers a curated catalog of GHG datasets and analysis tools.
• Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT)
  Publicly available surface water data from the global oceans, including the Arctic, and the coastal seas.
• Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP)
  A synthesis effort providing regular compilations of surface-to-bottom ocean biogeochemical bottle data, with an emphasis on seawater inorganic carbon chemistry and related variables determined through chemical analysis of seawater samples.

Greenhouse gas measuring and monitoring platforms at NOAA.

NOAA is a world-leading authority on measuring and monitoring greenhouse gases. For more than 50 years, NOAA has designed, deployed and maintained observational platforms that collect measurements on global, regional, and local scales. We collect measurements every day from a wide array of observing platforms (top left image) to advance scientific understanding of greenhouse gases’ sources and sinks (where they come from and where they end up).

Society’s ability to understand and address the root causes of global warming, and associated climatic changes, depends on the scientific evidence gathered by NOAA’s observing platforms. Likewise, NOAA GHG data are essential to understanding whether, where, and to what extent emission-reduction and carbon dioxide removal strategies are effective, today and into the future.

Learn more at the NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory

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NOAA’s Global Monitoring Lab operates several carbon cycle monitoring programs. Icons on this global show where and what types of measurements are collected around the world.

NOAA Contributors to GHG Monitoring

• Air Resources Laboratory (ARL)
  ARL collects measurements of GHGs from aircraft, mobile, and surface platforms, and uses a computer model (HYSPLIT) to track GHGs in the atmosphere. ARL research improves estimates of GHG fluxes between air and land, from local to global scales.
• Atlantic Oceanographic and Marine Laboratory (AOML)
  AOML measures air-sea carbon dioxide fluxes using instruments on ships, buoys, and uncrewed surface vehicles, and conducts surface-to-seafloor surveys from ships to monitor CO2 in the ocean. These data are made publicly available via the Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT) and the Global Carbon Budget annual report.
• Chemical Sciences Laboratory (CSL)
  CSL conducts research at the intersection of climate and air quality utilizing airborne, ground-based, and satellite observations of GHGs and co-emitted air pollutants and chemical transport models to map atmospheric concentrations, emissions sources and sinks, and support the development of NOAA's weather-chemistry models.
• Climate Program Office (CPO)
  Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle, and Climate (AC₄) program supports NOAA-led initiatives like CarbonTracker and field campaigns, coordinating GHG efforts across NOAA. It also supports the external research community with competitive grants through annual solicitations.
• Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL)
  GFDL develops and applies numerical models to advance understanding of historical and future drivers of changes in greenhouse gases and their influence on the Earth system.
• Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML)
  GML maintains long-term monitoring networks with a continuous record of GHGs for trend studies and process understanding. GML also provides CarbonTracker—a modeling system that shows annual fluxes of carbon dioxide and methane on a local-to-global scale.
• Global Ocean Monitoring & Observing Program (GOMO)
  GOMO supports half of the world’s ocean observing research, including carbon fluxes between ocean and atmosphere.
• National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
  NCEI develops a repository of U.S. and global environmental data, products, and monitoring and assessment services that collectively characterize Earth and beyond.
• Ocean Acidification Program (OAP)
  OAP provides support for NOAA’s ocean acidification observing network.
• Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL)
  PMEL measures air-sea carbon dioxide fluxes using instruments on ships, buoys, and uncrewed surface vehicles, and conducts surface-to-seafloor surveys from ships to monitor CO₂ in the ocean. These data are made publicly available via the Surface Ocean CO₂ Atlas (SOCAT) and the Global Carbon Budget annual report.

This map shows the locations where measurements of carbon dioxide at the ocean’s surface have been made around the world for at least a decade. Red lines show the tracks of NOAA ships and uncrewed surface vehicles; gray lines show non-NOAA watercraft. Red squares show locations of NOAA's moored buoys; gray squares show non-NOAA buoys. Credit: NOAA GML

NOAA-Sponsored Research Campaigns & Networks

• GO-SHIP
  International ship-based cruise project that monitors changes in the ocean basins from coast to coast and full depth to help visualize the effects of climate change on the ocean.
• Ocean Acidification Cruises
  Coastal and ocean acidification research cruises along the U.S.’s major coastlines help us track long-term ocean change and evaluate our monitoring network of buoys, gliders, and other tools.
• Ocean Carbon Network
  Provides long-term observations of carbon from the sea surface to the sea floor.
• Surface Ocean CO₂ Reference Observing Network (SOCONET)
  SOCONET provides high-quality global surface ocean CO₂ data.
• AIrborne and Remote sensing Methane and Air Pollutant Surveys (AiRMAPS) 
  AiRMAPS is a series of studies led by NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) to investigate greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions and impacts.
• Biogeochemical-Argo Program (BGC-Argo)
  BGC-Argo uses robotic ocean floats to collect unparalleled observations across the open Gulf of Mexico, a previously under-observed region.
• Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network
  This measures the atmospheric distribution and trends of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon monoxide.

Recommended Reading

• Download NOAA’s Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Strategy PDF and read the NOAA press release
• Measurements at 4 NOAA Atmospheric Baseline Observatories and multiple tall towers in the United States
• Air samples collected by volunteers at more than 50 sites around the world
• Air samples collected regularly from small aircraft mostly in North America
• Vertical profiles using balloons and the Aircore sampling system
• Making observations to understand carbon system dynamics in the ocean
• Download the State of the Science Fact Sheet: Greenhouse Gases and Climate PDF