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Measuring Carbon-based Contaminant Mineralization Using Combined CO2 Flux and Radiocarbon Analyses
Published on: October 21, 2016
Radiocarbon observations in atmospheric CO2: determining fossil fuel CO2 over Europe using Jungfraujoch observations
Ingeborg Levin1, Samuel Hammer, Bernd Kromer
1Institut für Umweltphysik, University of Heidelberg, INF 229, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Ingeborg.Levin@iup.uni-heidelberg.de
Abstract:
Monthly mean 14CO2 observations at two regional stations in Germany (Schauinsland observatory, Black Forest, and Heidelberg, upper Rhine valley) are compared with free tropospheric background measurements at the High Alpine Research Station Jungfraujoch (Swiss Alps) to estimate the regional fossil fuel CO2 surplus at the regional stations. The long-term mean fossil fuel CO2 surplus at Schauinsland is 1.31+/-0.09 ppm while it is 10.96+/-0.20 ppm in Heidelberg. No significant trend is observed at both sites over the last 20 years. Strong seasonal variations of the fossil fuel CO2 offsets indicate a strong seasonality of emissions but also of atmospheric dilution of ground level emissions by vertical mixing.
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