Radiocarbon Measurements Reveal Underestimated Fossil CH4 and CO2 Emissions in London

Autor: Giulia Zazzeri, Heather Graven, Xiaomei Xu, Eric Saboya, Liam Blyth, Alistair J. Manning, Hannah Chawner, Dien Wu, Samuel Hammer
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol 50, Iss 15, Pp n/a-n/a (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1944-8007
0094-8276
DOI: 10.1029/2023GL103834
Popis: Abstract Radiocarbon (14C) is a powerful tracer of fossil emissions because fossil fuels are entirely depleted in 14C, but observations of 14CO2 and especially 14CH4 in urban regions are sparse. We present the first observations of 14C in both methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) in an urban area (London) using a recently developed sampling system. We find that the fossil fraction of CH4 and the atmospheric concentration of fossil CO2 are consistently higher than simulated values using the atmospheric dispersion model NAME coupled with emission inventories. Observed net biospheric uptake in June–July is not well correlated with simulations using the SMURF model with NAME. The results show the partitioning of fossil and biospheric CO2 and CH4 in cities can be evaluated and improved with 14C observations when the nuclear power plants influence is negligible.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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