Taiwan Today
Date: September 7, 2016
The second round of results from aircraft and ship-based monitoring of greenhouse gas levels above the
A second China Airlines aircraft joined Taiwan’s Pacific Greenhouse Gases Measurement project, a platform for gathering climate change data from throughout the region, in July this year. (Courtesy of NCU)
Pacific Ocean under a Taiwan-initiated research project was announced Sept. 6 by National Central University in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City, indicating a sustained rise in carbon dioxide levels.
Initiated in 2008, the Pacific Greenhouse Gases Measurement initiative works with Taiwan’s China Airlines, CPC Corp. and Evergreen Marine Corp. to gather climate change data from in-service aircraft and ships.
According to the latest PGGM results, atmospheric CO2 concentrations over the middle of the Pacific Ocean have exceeded 400 parts per million, far surpassing the global preindustrial value of 280 ppm. The data indicate the levels are rising by more than 1.5 ppm per year.
The 20-year PGGM project is being implemented by NCU in cooperation with the Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science and Technology, as well as research institutes in Europe and the U.S. It aims to establish the world’s largest platform for atmospheric and ocean observations of greenhouse gas emissions. [FULL STORY]
