Collaborative Research: Analysis of Historic Spectral Plates for Atmospheric Composition Data

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An improved understanding of climate change is a universally important goal of contemporary environmental science, but a critical key to understanding perturbations in present climate and any cause and effect relationships may well lie in better characterizing the past climate record. This collaborative venture between investigators at the University of Denver and the Harvard University-Smithsonian Institution Astrophysical Observatory will digitally preserve historical archive solar observational records acquired on photographic plates during the period 1925-1950 and extract from them atmospheric composition data for radiatively important trace gas species such as carbon dioxide, methane and ozone. Independent measurements of changes in atmospheric composition for this time period characterizing the rapid spin-up phase of the 'Industrial Age' and where few direct measurements are documented is at the cornerstone of enhancing present understanding of the anthropogenic and natural influences on climate change on a global scale. The broader impacts of this project include preserving a very important archival data set representing a significant and unique source of knowledge about long-term atmospheric trends, and thereby possibly facilitating a variety of climate relevant studies in the future. Support is provided for undergraduate participation through the University of Denver component that should enhance research experience options for young geoscientists at that institution.