Stations
1
1
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Mace
Head (Ireland) |
Trinidad Head (California) |
Ragged Point (Barbados) |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Cape Matatula |
Cape Grim (Tasmania) |
|
|
(American Samoa) |
The
ALE/GAGE/AGAGE stations are located at coastal sites around the world to provide
accurate measurements of trace gases whose lifetimes are long compared to global
atmospheric circulation times. These stations are or have been located at five
globally distributed sites, and can measure trace gases under both polluted and
background conditions.
| (1) Ireland |
Adrigole |
520 N, 100 W |
1978-1983 |
|
Mace Head |
530 N, 100 W |
1987-present |
| (2) USA |
Cape Meares, Oregon |
450 N, 1240 W |
1979-1989 |
|
Trinidad Head, California |
410 N, 1240 W |
1995-present |
| (3) Barbados |
Ragged Point |
130 N, 590 W |
1978-present |
| (4) American Samoa |
Cape Matatula |
140 S, 1710 W |
1978-present |
| (5) Australia |
Cape Grim, Tasmania |
410 S, 1450 E |
1978-present |
The station locations were originally chosen to
determine concentrations of trace gases in clean air in the lower troposphere in
the four equal-mass subdivisions of the global atmosphere. The majority of the
anthropogenic halocarbons are in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, so two
stations are placed in this semi-hemisphere. The two tropical stations are
located below the tropical Hadley cell while the three mid-latitude stations are
centered below the weak indirect cells. The tropical stations experience steady,
largely easterly winds, whereas the mid-latitude stations experience generally
westerly winds disrupted routinely by the passage of cyclones and anticyclones.
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