Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2004
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004agufm.b23a0949h&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, abstract #B23A-0949
Physics
4805 Biogeochemical Cycles (1615), 0315 Biosphere/Atmosphere Interactions
Scientific paper
Radiocarbon levels in annual plants provide a means to map out regional and continental-scale patterns of fossil fuel emissions and biosphere-atmosphere exchange. The imprint of the local atmosphere is recorded within the leaves of these annual plants and represents a time-integral of atmospheric levels over a period of several months, complementing both flask and aircraft sampling techniques. Working with colleagues, we collected corn (Zea mays) from approximately 70 sites across North America. We designed a sampling protocol that captured regional and continental scale patterns of fossil fuel CO2 levels; we specifically avoided areas directly influenced by point sources such as major roads or cities. We then analyzed the leaves in the W.M. Keck Carbon Cycle Accelerator Mass Spectrometer at the University of California, Irvine. In areas where the corn plants were exposed to sustained and elevated levels of CO2 from fossil fuel emissions, such as the Ohio Valley, the 14C/12C ratio of the corn leaves was reduced. We found that there was a drop of approximately 15 per mil between the western U.S. (Alberta, Idaho, Colorado and New Mexico) and the Northeastern U.S. (Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania). This corresponds to approximately 5 ppm increase in fossil fuel CO2 levels, as air moves from west to east across the continent. These data provide a means to test our understanding of the coupling of biosphere atmosphere exchange, planetary boundary layer mixing, atmospheric transport, and fossil fuel emissions in mesoscale and global models that are used to estimate the spatial distribution of carbon sources and sinks.
Hsueh Diana Y.
Randerson James T.
Southon John R.
Trumbore Susan E.
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