The rate at which humans are pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has more than doubled since the 1990s, according to Australian research in the latest report warning about the high rate of emissions accumulating in the atmosphere.

Findings published by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization also showed 2005 marked the fourth-consecutive year of increased carbon dioxide emissions.

"To have four years in a row of above-average carbon dioxide growth is unprecedented," Paul Fraser, a scientist with the CSIRO's centre for marine and atmospheric research, said in a statement.

A conveyor belt moves mined coal to the surface. Carbon dioxide from burning coal, oil and other fossil fuels is the most prevalent of the greenhouse gases.
(Seth Perlman/Associated Press)

The study analyzed a 30-year record of air samples collected at an Australian Bureau of Meteorology observation station on the southern island state of Tasmania.

Mike Raupach, a scientist with the organization, said from 2000 to 2005 the growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions was more than 2.5 per cent per year, whereas in the 1990s it was less than one per cent per year.

Raupach, who is also co-chairman of the Global Carbon Project research group, said 7.12 billion tonnes of carbon passed into the atmosphere last year, compared to 6.05 billion tonnes in 2000.

About half of all carbon dioxide emissions remain trapped in the atmosphere, and the rest are absorbed by the land and oceans, Raupach said. As emissions rise, so does the amount of carbon in the air.

Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organization reported the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached 379.1 parts per million in 2005, more than 35 per cent higher than in the late 18th century.

Raupach and Fraser presented their findings last week at an annual science meeting at Tasmania's Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station.