Seven years of observational atmospheric CO2 at a maritime site in northernmost Japan and its implications

Surface atmospheric CO2 mixing ratio reflects both natural fluctuation of the carbon cycle and the effect of anthropogenic activities. Long-term observation of atmospheric CO2 forms the basis for model simulations of the carbon cycle both in the straightforward and the inversion ways. Atmospheric CO2 has been measured on Rishiri Island (45.1°N, 141.2°E) in the western North Pacific since May 2006. We report the first 7-year temporal CO2 variations from diurnal to inter-annual scales and the implications on the vegetation phenology. Diurnally, an obvious cycle appeared as a minimum in the afternoon and maximum at midnight in the summer months, caused by local vegetation. Seasonally, the maximum CO2 concentration appeared around the beginning of April, while the minimum appeared around the middle of August. This seasonal variation implied the natural cycle of terrestrial biological activities of the boreal forest, mostly in the east Eurasia. A mean growing season length of ~ 126 days was estimated. In the period from 2007 to 2012, the peak-to-peak amplitude increased until 2009 and decreased thereafter, with a mean value of 19.7 ppm. Inter-annually, atmospheric CO2 is increasing by a mean growth rate of 2.1 ppm year− 1. The study provides invaluable dataset and useful information to better understand the carbon cycle and its interaction with climate change.