Environment

Mauna Loa eruption interrupts key record of atmospheric CO2

The Mauna Loa Observatory has kept a nearly uninterrupted record of atmospheric carbon dioxide for more than 60 years, but a volcanic eruption has cut off power

By James Dinneen

29 November 2022

Credit: NOAA — Mauna Loa Observatory, where CO2 monitoring has been disrupted due to a volcanic eruption
NOAA

Lava flow from the ongoing eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii has knocked out power and cut off access to an observatory that has recorded the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere since 1958.

Mauna Loa started erupting the evening of 27 November. Initially, the lava was confined to the volcano’s summit caldera, but on 28 November, the Northeast Rift Zone – a section on the side of the volcano where the surface can crack and split – also started erupting. This caused…