A Brief History of CO2 Measurements
JPL Historian Erik Conway provides an overview of the sequence of events that lead to the link between human activity, carbon dioxide, and global warming. Conway also examines how the spaceborne instrument, the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, has become part of the story. Charles Keeling points out the steady rise in carbon dioxide that came to be known as the Keeling Curve. Image courtesy of Scripps Institution of Oceanography Keeling's measurements on Mauna Loa in the late 1950's showed a clear upward trend in the amount of CO2 in a short 18-month period. http://airs.jpl.nasa.gov/story_archive/Measuring_CO2_from_Space/History_CO2_Measurements/