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| Titel |
Continental-scale enrichment of atmospheric 14CO2 from the nuclear power industry: potential impact on the estimation of fossil fuel-derived CO2 |
| VerfasserIn |
H. D. Graven, N. Gruber |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1680-7316
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ; 11, no. 23 ; Nr. 11, no. 23 (2011-12-09), S.12339-12349 |
| Datensatznummer |
250010253
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/acp-11-12339-2011.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| The 14C-free fossil carbon added to atmospheric CO2 by combustion
dilutes the atmospheric 14C/C ratio (Δ14C),
potentially providing a means to verify fossil CO2 emissions calculated
using economic inventories. However, sources of 14C from nuclear power
generation and spent fuel reprocessing can counteract this dilution and may
bias 14C/C-based estimates of fossil fuel-derived CO2 if these
nuclear influences are not correctly accounted for. Previous studies have
examined nuclear influences on local scales, but the potential for
continental-scale influences on Δ14C has not yet been
explored. We estimate annual 14C emissions from each nuclear site in the
world and conduct an Eulerian transport modeling study to investigate the
continental-scale, steady-state gradients of Δ14C caused by
nuclear activities and fossil fuel combustion. Over large regions of Europe,
North America and East Asia, nuclear enrichment may offset at least 20% of
the fossil fuel dilution in Δ14C, corresponding to
potential biases of more than −0.25 ppm in the CO2 attributed to fossil
fuel emissions, larger than the bias from plant and soil respiration in some
areas. Model grid cells including high 14C-release reactors or fuel
reprocessing sites showed much larger nuclear enrichment, despite the coarse
model resolution of 1.8°×1.8°. The recent growth of
nuclear 14C emissions increased the potential nuclear bias over
1985–2005, suggesting that changing nuclear activities may complicate the
use of Δ14C observations to identify trends in fossil fuel
emissions. The magnitude of the potential nuclear bias is largely independent
of the choice of reference station in the context of continental-scale
Eulerian transport and inversion studies, but could potentially be reduced by
an appropriate choice of reference station in the context of local-scale
assessments. |
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