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11/26/2005:

"Carbon dioxide levels highest in 650,000 years: studies"

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- With the first in-depth analysis of the air bubbles trapped in the ice core of east Antarctica, scientists have discovered that today's atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are the highest in 650,000 years.

The analysis highlights the fact that today's rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, at 380 parts per million by volume, is already 27 percent higher than its highest recorded level during the last 650,000 years, reported scientists in two papers in the Nov. 25 issue of the journal Science.

One study chronicles the stable relationship between climate and the carbon cycle during the Pleistocene (650,000 to 390,000 years ago). The second paper documents atmospheric methane and nitrous oxide levels over the same period.

Carbon dioxide and methane, known as greenhouse gases, are blamed for global warming. Scientists believe that humans have been accelerating the global warming trend by emitting more greenhouse gas through industrialization.
xinhuanet.com