The eruption Mauna Loa in Hawaii has temporarily disrupted one of the most important tools we have to keep track of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego said Tuesday that the volcanoâs lava flows had impacted the access road to the Mauna Loa Observatory, and the facility had lost power on Monday evening. As a result, the equipment used to maintain the Observatoryâs carbon dioxide measurementsâknown as the Keeling Curveâis temporarily offline.
The measurements going offline is âa big deal,â Ralph Keeling, a researcher at Scripps and grandson of the toolâs creator, told CNN. âThis is the central record of the present understanding of the climate problem. We probably can survive this, but itâs still a really key indicator that we hate to lose.â
The Keeling Curve is one of the most recognizable icons of climate science, a stark and troubling reminder of the ways that human activity is changing the atmosphere. The curve is named after Charles Keeling, a researcher at the Scripps Institution, who began taking carbon dioxide measurements from Mauna Loa in 1958; the facilityâs location thousands of feet in the air and comparatively desolate surroundingsâvolcanic rock and few plantsâmake it ideal for taking CO2 measurements that are broadly representative of the rest of the planet. Originally, the measurements were intended to record routine atmospheric patterns throughout the seasons, but, as the years went on, researchers noticed an unmistakable trend upwards. Carbon dioxide levels at Mauna Loa have consistently broken records over the past few years.
![The full Keeling Curve since measurements began in 1958.](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2022/11/d729d6528f92d9cfe13cedde910461af.jpg)
Now, the Keeling Curve represents a striking visual record of how much the atmosphere is changing thanks to the massive amounts of CO2 weâre dumping into it. The Scripps Institution posts a daily atmospheric CO2 reading on its website, as well as charts depicting CO2 levels at various intervals over time.
This isnât the first time that Mauna Loa has disrupted measurements of the Keeling Curve. In 1984, the volcano erupted and cut off power to the Observatory, and there were no CO2 measurements for a month until a generator was brought in. Budget cuts in the 1960s also temporarily halted the readings. Given the volcanoâs unpredictability, itâs not clear when measurements will resume; Keeling said the uncertainty made this power cut âmuch worseâ than other points in the Observatoryâs history.
âIn the long run, weâll get back up again; weâll get back to where we were, but weâll have a gap of some sort that may have to be filled with surrogate data,â Keeling told CNN. âRight now, thereâs no data at all. Weâve seen gaps for several months in the past, we donât like that, so itâs really all hands on deck to try to figure out how to get something back up as soon as possible.â