Atmospheric CO2 Record from In Situ Measurements at K-Puszta, Hungary (1981 - 1997)

The K-puszta regional background air pollution monitoring station was established in a clearing in a mixed forest on the Hungarian Great Plain in the middle of the Carpathian Basin. K-puszta is as free from direct pollution as possible in the highly industrialized, densely populated central Europe. Because of the growing vegetation, the station was moved in September 1993 to a larger clearing, also at the same elevation, approximately 500 m from the original site. The region is climatologically calm. The yearly mean atmospheric CO2 concentration at K-puszta, Hungary increased from 354.1 parts per million (ppm) in 1981 to 377.0 ppm in 1997. Because the K-puszta station is located in a clearing of a forested area on the Hungarian Great Plain, it is subject to significant biospheric effects. As a result, the record from K-puszta shows high seasonal and interannual variability. However, the trends and temporal features of the K-puszta record parallel those observed at other Northern Hemisphere baseline air pollution monitoring stations (Haszpra 1995). For access to the data files, click this link to the CDIAC data transition website: http://cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov/trends/co2/kpuszta.html