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The Tropospheric 14CO2 Level in Mid-Latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (1959–2003)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Ingeborg Levin
Affiliation:
Institut für Umweltphysik, Universität Heidelberg, INF 229, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Email: Ingeborg.Levin@iup.uni-heidelberg.de
Bernd Kromer
Affiliation:
Institut für Umweltphysik, Universität Heidelberg, INF 229, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Also: Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, INF 229, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Email: Bernd.Kromer@iup.uni-heidelberg.de
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Abstract

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A comprehensive tropospheric 14CO2 data set of quasi-continuous observations covering the time span from 1959 to 2003 is presented. Samples were collected at 3 European mountain sites at height levels of 1205 m (Schauinsland), 1800 m (Vermunt), and 3450 m asl (Jungfraujoch), and analyzed in the Heidelberg Radiocarbon Laboratory. The data set from Jungfraujoch (1986–2003) is considered to represent the free tropospheric background level at mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, as it compares well with recent (yet unpublished) measurements made at the marine baseline station Mace Head (west coast of Ireland). The Vermunt and Schauinsland records are significantly influenced by regional European fossil fuel CO2 emissions. The respective Δ14CO2 depletions, on an annual mean basis, are, however, only 5 less than at Jungfraujoch. Vermunt and Schauinsland both represent the mean continental European troposphere.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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