Since 1958 scientists have collected daily air samples at an observatory on the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. One particularly important gas is carbon dioxide (CO_2). While the concentration of CO_2 is very small (typically measured in parts per million, ppm), it has a very important effect on climate. The 57 year record of CO_2 measurements is shown in Figure 1. The figure contains two graphs. The red line is uncorrected data. It shows short-period oscillations between highs and lows superimposed on an increasing trend. The black line shows the corrected data after the short period oscillations have been removed. Investigate the source of the short-period oscillations shown in the red graph. Select a 10-year period and count the number of highs (e.g. the cycles) within that period. Number of highs: _______. Based on your observations of the number of cycles within a 10 year period, propose a cause of the oscillations.
Expert Answer
Red line Count the oscillation period between a period of 10 years, for every oscillation 1 high is to be considered. From the graph data shows
For a 10 year period number of highs = 10