Trump Cuts to Keeling Curve?
- Jennifer Anderson | Serpentine Drive
In 1958, Dave Keeling, an author of the Del Mar Community Plan and professor at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, began charting levels of CO2 in the atmosphere at an observatory on the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. His measurements produced a data set known as the “Keeling Curve” which confirmed, for the first time, that atmospheric CO2 levels were steadily increasing year by year. Prior to these findings, it was commonly held that oceans and vegetation would readily absorb any excess CO2 from the atmosphere produced by the burning of fossil fuels and other industrial activities. The data proved that humans were impacting the atmosphere in a way that could change global climate.
The Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) is still one of the world’s key stations for continuous monitoring of atmospheric CO2. At just over 13,451 feet above sea level, MLO protrudes through the strong marine temperature inversion layer present in the region, which separates the more polluted lower portions of the atmosphere from the much cleaner free troposphere. The undisturbed air, remote location, and minimal influences of vegetation and human activity make it one of only two stations in the world operating in such a pristine air environment.
But the office in Hilo, Hawaii that manages the daily operations of the world-famous site is among 30 buildings operated by the NOAA, listed by DOGE for possible lease terminations beginning as early as May.
Scientists say if research at HLO were halted, it would be “one of the worst losses of environmentally significant data tracking the dynamics and health of planet Earth.”
Long-term data sets are vital for scientists’ understanding of how Earth’s systems are responding to rising CO2 emissions over time. Breaking the world’s longest continuous measurement of atmospheric carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa would make it harder to track such trends. Satellite tracking doesn’t go back as far and is less precise.
We need Congress to not allow further cuts to NOAA. At a time when our weather is becoming more erratic, extreme and costly than ever, continued cuts will undermine our efforts to monitor environmental trends and prepare for severe weather events endangering our communities and leaving us all more vulnerable to destructive and costly natural disasters.
Dr. Ralph Keeling, a professor of geochemistry at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, is dedicated to preserving his father’s legacy by protecting long-term observations of the environment through the Keeling Curve Foundation, keelingcurve.org.