Radiocarbon method in monitoring of fossil fuel emission

Abstract

Abstract:The traditional radiocarbon method widely used in archaeology and geology for chronological purposes can also be used in environmental studies. Combustion of fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, petroleum, etc., in industrial and/or heavily urbanized areas, has increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The addition of fossil carbon caused changes of carbon isotopic composition, in particular, a definite decrease of 14 C concentration in atmospheric CO 2 and other carbon reservoirs (ocean and terrestrial biosphere), known as the Suess effect. Tree rings, leaves, as well as other annual growing plants reflected the changes of radiocarbon concentration in the atmosphere due to processes of photosynthesis and assimilation of carbon from the air. By measuring radiocarbon concentration directly in atmospheric CO 2 samples and/or biospheric material growing in industrial and/or highly urbanized areas where high emission of dead carbon is expected, it is possible to estimate the total emission of dead CO 2 . Based on equations of mass balance for CO 2 concentration, stable isotopic composition of carbon and radiocarbon concentration it is possible to calculate CO 2 concentration associated with fossil fuel emission into the atmosphere. The procedure use differences between the radiocarbon concentration and stable isotope composition of carbon observed in clean areas and industrial or/and highly urbanized areas.

Reconstructing urban CO₂ emissions utilising the radiocarbon composition of tree rings from the Wellington Region, New Zealand

“…In the period immediately prior to the instigation of nuclear bomb testing in the mid-1950s, the KNG52 values were persistently recording a Δ 14 CO 2 of ~-25‰. This is consistent with other pre-bomb tree ring records (Hua & Barbetti, 2004;Rakowski, 2011;Hua et al, 2013) and is likely to be caused by a combination of a small amount of post-industrial revolution fossil fuel combustion (the Suess Effect, as described in Chapter 2.3.2; Suess, 1955;Schuur et al, 2016).…”

Fossil Carbon Load in Urban Vegetation for Debrecen, Hungary

“…The 14 C/ 12 C ratio in the atmospheric CO 2 is affected by both natural and anthropogenic sources and sinks. The dilution of atmospheric radiocarbon ( 14 C) may occur by natural fossil emissions such as volcanic gases, but mainly induced by burning of fossil fuels, and this can be estimated using the formula devised by Suess (Suess 1955;Rakowski 2011;Capano et al 2010;Major et al 2018). Major anthropogenic fossil CO 2 sources are traditional fossil-fueled power plants, industrial facilities, cement production and road traffic.…”

Spatial Distribution of 14C in Tree Leaves from Bali, Indonesia

“…There are other natural sources that do not cause the enrichment of radiocarbon but can dilute the radiocarbon concentration, such as magmatic or volcanic sources that emit radiocarbon-free carbon to the atmosphere (Shore and Cook 1995;Cook et al 2001). Plants fix the CO 2 from the atmosphere by photosynthesis, so plant materials, such as leaves and tree rings, can be a method of biomonitoring the atmospheric radiocarbon concentration (Pawelczyk and Pazdur 2004;Pazdur et al 2007;Quarta et al 2007;Rakowski 2011;Janovics et al 2013Janovics et al , 2016. Evergreen species are often avoided for this reason but in the tropical regions deciduous trees are less common, so in this study, only evergreen leaf samples were collected as a biological record of atmospheric radiocarbon concentration (Alessio et al 2002).…”