| Summary: | The atmospheric background CO<sub>2</sub> concentration is a key quantity for the analysis and evaluation of the ongoing climate change. Long-term CO<sub>2</sub> observations have been carried out at the high Plateau Rosa mountain station, in the north-western Alps since 1989. The complete time series covers thirty years, and it is suitable for climatological analysis. The continuous CO<sub>2</sub> measurements, collected since 1993, were selected, by means of a BaDS (Background Data Selection) filter, to obtain the hourly background data. The monthly background data series was analysed in order to individuate the parameters that characterise the seasonal cycle and the long-term trend. The growth rate was found to be 2.05 ± 0.03 ppm/year, which is in agreement with the global trend. The increased background CO<sub>2</sub> concentration at the Plateau Rosa site is the consequence of global anthropic emissions, whereas the natural variability of the climatic system taken from the SOI (South Oscillation Index) and MEI (Multivariate ENSO Index) signals was detected in the inter-annual changes of the Plateau Rosa growth rate.
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