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1 Introduction
Pages 11-20

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From page 11...
... , which is aimed at "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in This report examines methods for estimating the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous a nthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and for anthropogenic interference with the climate system" observing their changes over time (see committee (United Nations, 1992, p.
From page 12...
... area and within a specified time span, usually a specific year. Under the Verification -- An independent examination of monitoring data to help UNFCCC, Annex I countries prepare national inventories of anthropo genic greenhouse gas emissions and removals for each calendar year.
From page 13...
... are considered because confidence in a treaty relies on open data for transparency and scientific scrutiny. Greenhouse Gases This report considers the anthropogenic greenhouse gases required by the committee charge -- CO2, CH4, N2O, CFCs, HFCs, and PFCs -- and SF6, but not the optional soot or precursors of tropospheric ozone.
From page 14...
... A global network of surface ing approaches: national inventories, satellite measure- monitoring stations, aircraft, balloons, and satellites ments of land use, and atmospheric methods. routinely measures greenhouse gas abundances in the atmosphere and oceans.
From page 15...
... Of the four groups spheric sampling network that could significantly of gases considered in this report, CO2 has the largimprove our ability to estimate national emissions est radiative forcing (1.66 W m–2 for emissions up to and emissions trends. These include measurements of the end of 2005)
From page 16...
... Nitrous oxide has an average residence time increased abundance caused by fossil-fuel burning in of 114 years in the atmosphere before it is photochemithe last 200 years. The upshot is that a fraction of the cally decomposed in the stratosphere.
From page 17...
... . For the 1970s and 1980s, the growth rate of methane was about Atmospheric abundances of greenhouse gases are 1 percent per year; the rate slowed dramatically in the best quantified by dry air mole fractions -- the number 1990s and dropped to nearly zero from 2000, but began of molecules of the gas in a set volume divided by the to grow again in 2007 (Rigby et al., 2008b)
From page 18...
... . N2O is now increasing in concentration at an average rate of approximately Anthropogenic emissions are the emissions of a gas 0.25 percent per year.
From page 19...
... (e.g., pH, pCO2) of the surface ocean from research Current models indicate that climate change feeds vessels and commercial ships of opportunity, the annual back on natural ecosystems and the ocean to produce sink assignable to an ocean basin can be estimated to new sources or reduce sinks of greenhouse gases, with a precision of about ±10 percent (e.g., Watson et al., most of the feedbacks amplifying climate change.
From page 20...
... It also describes observations This report examines methods used to estimate and research needed to improve UNFCCC inventories greenhouse gas emissions and identifies enhancements of emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land or new techniques that could be used to significantly use. Chapter 4 examines atmospheric-based estimates improve emissions estimates over the next few years.


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