Abstract

Recently radiocarbon ( 14 C) concentration in the atmospheric CO 2 has decreased over time due to the exchange of CO 2 between atmosphere and ocean, but also due to emission of 14 C free-CO 2 from burning fossil fuels. The second contribution, known as the Suess effect, can be observed in the highly industrialized and/or urban area. 14 C concentrations in annual rings of a pine tree from the urban area in Nagoya, Japan, that grew over the last 24 years were measured with AMS to be remarkably lower than those observed in “clear air” of corresponding years at Schauinsland station in Germany. The measured data were used to estimate the rate of the fossil component in atmospheric CO 2 that was derived from fossil fuel burning. Exponential and linear functions were fitted to the secular variations of 14 C concentration in annual rings to calculate the decay constant and an average decreasing rate of 14 C concentration. The result suggests that the use of annual rings of trees to obtain the secular variations of 14 C concentration of atmospheric CO 2 can be useful and efficient for environmental monitoring and modeling of the carbon distribution in local scale.

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