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Temporal Variation of Atmospheric Fossil and Modern CO2 Excess at a Central European Rural Tower Station between 2008 and 2014

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2018

István Major ,
László Haszpra ,
László Rinyu ,
István Futó ,
Árpád Bihari ,
Samuel Hammer ,
A J Timothy Jull Open the ORCID record for A J Timothy Jull [Opens in a new window]  and
Mihály Molnár
István Major
Affiliation:
Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA ATOMKI), Debrecen, Hungary
László Haszpra
Affiliation:
Hungarian Meteorological Service, Budapest, Hungary Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Sopron, Hungary
László Rinyu
Affiliation:
Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA ATOMKI), Debrecen, Hungary
István Futó
Affiliation:
Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA ATOMKI), Debrecen, Hungary
Árpád Bihari
Affiliation:
Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA ATOMKI), Debrecen, Hungary
Samuel Hammer
Affiliation:
Institut für Umweltphysik, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
A J Timothy Jull
Affiliation:
Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA ATOMKI), Debrecen, Hungary Department of Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1118 East Fourth St., Tucson, AZ 85721, USA AMS Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Mihály Molnár
Affiliation:
Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA ATOMKI), Debrecen, Hungary
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Abstract

In 2008, the atmospheric CO2 measurements at the Hegyhátsál rural tower station were extended further by 14CO2 air sampling from two elevations (115 and 10 m a.g.l.), in cooperation with HEKAL (ICER). Since then, a complete six-year-long (2008–2014) dataset of atmospheric CO2, Δ14C, fossil, and modern CO2 excess (relative to Jungfraujoch) has been assembled and evaluated. Based on our results, the annual mean CO2 mole fraction rose at both elevations in this period. The annual mean Δ14CO2 values decreased with a similar average annual decline. Based on our comparison, planetary boundary layer height obtained by modeling has a larger influence on the variation of mole fraction of CO2 (relative to Jungfraujoch), than on its carbon isotopic composition, i.e. the boundary layer rather represents a physical constraint. Fossil fuel CO2 excess at both elevations can rather be observed in wintertime and mainly due to the increased anthropogenic emission of nearby cities in the region. The mean modern CO2 excess at both elevations was even larger in winter, but it drastically decreased at 115 m by summer, while it remained at the winter level at 10 m.

Keywords

atmosphereboundary layerCO2fossil fuelradiocarbon

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Footnotes

Selected Papers from the 2nd Radiocarbon in the Environment Conference, Debrecen, Hungary, 3–7 July 2017

References

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