4 ms·
No, the "parts" in ppm reduce, but the "millions" does, too. It's a ratio. (There might be a tiny effect due to the fact that CO2 is heavier than air, so as yo
by lutorm 5y ago
No, the "parts" in ppm reduce, but the "millions" does, too. It's a ratio.
(There might be a tiny effect due to the fact that CO2 is heavier than air, so as you go up you might expect the CO2 to mostly have settled against the bottom of the atmosphere. I suspect as long as you're in the troposphere, there's sufficient mixing to make it uniform, though.)
- CraigJPerry 5y agoYeah you’re right https://www.researchgate.net/figure/In-situ-CO2-concentrations-versus-altitude-measured-by-the-DOE-Cessna-aircraft-with-an_fig12_227619523 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/In-situ-CO2-concentratio...
- mturmon 5y agoThis is correct. CO2 is well-mixed, both laterally and vertically. Mauna Loa observatory is at about 4200 meters, or 0.6 atmospheres. At that atmospheric height, CO2 should generally be within ~10ppm of the concentration anywhere above the atmospheric boundary layer (BL). Below the BL, CO2 can be trapped by topography or temperature inversions, or in general, not be as well-mixed vertically. The height of the BL varies with time and location but generally that's a few hundred meters. Well above 0.6 atmospheres -- say, 0.2 atmospheres, or > 12km up -- the CO2 concentration in ppm can decrease noticeably more.