Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T17:04:35.721Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

RECENT PROGRESS IN ATMOSPHERIC FOSSIL FUEL CO2 TRENDS TRACED BY RADIOCARBON IN CHINA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2022

Weijian Zhou Open the ORCID record for Weijian Zhou [Opens in a new window] ,
Zhenchuan Niu ,
Shugang Wu ,
Xiaohu Xiong ,
Peng Wang ,
Peng Cheng Open the ORCID record for Peng Cheng [Opens in a new window] ,
Yaoyao Hou ,
Hua Du ,
Ning Chen  and
Xuefeng Lu
Weijian Zhou*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China Open Studio for Oceanic-Continental Climate and Environment Changes, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, China Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Joint Xi’an AMS Center between IEECAS and Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China Xi’an Institute for Innovative Earth Environment Research, Xi’an, China
Zhenchuan Niu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China Open Studio for Oceanic-Continental Climate and Environment Changes, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, China Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Joint Xi’an AMS Center between IEECAS and Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China Shaanxi Guanzhong Plain Ecological Environment Change and Comprehensive Treatment National Observation and Research Station, Xi’an, China
Shugang Wu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Joint Xi’an AMS Center between IEECAS and Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
Xiaohu Xiong
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Joint Xi’an AMS Center between IEECAS and Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
Peng Wang
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Joint Xi’an AMS Center between IEECAS and Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
Peng Cheng
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Joint Xi’an AMS Center between IEECAS and Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
Yaoyao Hou
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Joint Xi’an AMS Center between IEECAS and Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
Hua Du
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Joint Xi’an AMS Center between IEECAS and Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
Ning Chen
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Joint Xi’an AMS Center between IEECAS and Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
Xuefeng Lu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, CAS Center for Excellence in Quaternary Science and Global Change, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an, China Shaanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Technology and Application, Joint Xi’an AMS Center between IEECAS and Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

It is important to know how much of the increased atmospheric CO2 is derived from fossil fuel emissions. Here, we review the progress in atmospheric fossil fuel CO2 (CO2ff) tracing over recent years by measurement of Δ14C in Chinese cities. In this paper we make progress by expanding the analysis from some locations to more regional views, by combining observations with modeling, and by making a preliminary comparison of observation-derived CO2ff with inventory-derived CO2ff. We have obtained a general picture of Chinese urban CO2ff and characteristics of its spatio-temporal variations at different scale, and identified the corresponding influencing factors. Interestingly, we found that the weekend effect of CO2ff was less evident in Chinese cities. In addition, we observed simultaneous variations in CO2ff and PM2.5 in a winter haze event in Beijing and a simultaneous decrease in annual averages of CO2ff and PM2.5 in Xi’an based on multi-year (2011–2016) Δ14CO2 monitoring. We found that local coal combustion was the main source of CO2ff in Xi’an, which is located in the Guanzhong basin, by applying a WRF-Chem model and looking at δ13C signatures. Thus, reduction of coal consumption is a crucial target for carbon emissions reduction in China.

Keywords

carbon emissions reductionChinese citiesfossil fuel CO2PM2.5radiocarbon
Type
Review Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 64 , Issue 4: Seven Decades of Radiocarbon Dating: Remembering the Pioneers & Looking Towards the Future Part 2 of 2 , August 2022 , pp. 793 - 803
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press for the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Basu, S, Lehman, SJ, Miller, JB, Andrews, AE, Sweeney, C, Gurney, KR, Xu, X, Southon, J, Tans, PP. 2020. Estimating US fossil fuel CO2 emissions from measurements of 14C in atmospheric CO2 . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117:13300.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, Y, Fan, W, Liu, S, Xiao, B, Guo, W, Li, W, Wang, N. 2014. Characteristics of PM2.5 and carbonaceous aerosols in Xi’an. Journal of Xi’an University of Architecture & Technology 46(6):888–893. In Chinese.Google Scholar
Ciais, P, Paris, JD, Marland, G, Peylin, P, Piao, SL, Levin, I, Pregger, T, Scholz, Y, Friedrich, R, Rivier, L, Houwelling, S, Schulze, ED. 2010. The European carbon balance. Part 1: fossil fuel emissions. Global Change Biology 16(5):1395–1408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dhakal, S. 2009. Urban energy use and carbon emissions from cities in China and policy implications. Energy Policy 37(11):4208–4219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ding, P, Shen, CD, Yi, WX, Wang, N, Ding, XF, Fu, DP, Liu, KX. 2013. Fossil-fuel-derived CO2 contribution to the urban atmosphere in Guangzhou, South China, estimated by 14CO2 observation, 2010–2011. Radiocarbon 55(2–3):791–803.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feng, T, Zhou, WJ, Wu, SG, Niu, ZC, Cheng, P, Xiong, XH, Li, GH. 2018. Simulations of summertime fossil fuel CO2 in the Guanzhong basin, China. Science of the Total Environment 624:1163–1170.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
GMD-ESRL (Global Monitoring Division of the Earth System Research Laboratory). 2021. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce [accessed 2022]. ftp://aftp.cmdl.noaa.gov/products/trends/co2/co2_mm_mlo.txt.Google Scholar
Graven, HD, Gruber, N. 2011. Continental-scale enrichment of atmospheric 14CO2 from the nuclear power industry: potential impact on the estimation of fossil fuel-derived CO2 . Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 11(23): 12339–12349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gregg, JS, Andres, RJ, Marland, G. 2008. China: emissions pattern of the world leader in CO2 emissions from fossil fuel consumption and cement production. Geophysical Research Letters 35(8).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gurney, KR, Razlivanov, I, Song, Y, Zhou, Y, Benes, B, Abdul-Massih, M. 2012. Quantification of fossil fuel CO2 emissions on the building/street scale for a large U.S. city. Environmental Science & Technology 46(21):12194–12202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hammer, S, Levin, I. 2017. Monthly mean atmospheric Δ14CO2 at Jungfraujoch and Schauinsland from 1986 to 2016. Available at: https://doi.org/10.11588/data/10100. heiDATA, V2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hou, YY, Zhou, WJ, Cheng, P, Xiong, XH, Du, H, Niu, ZC, Yu Xia, Fu YC, Lu, XF. 2020. 14C-AMS measurements in modern tree rings to trace local fossil fuel-derived CO2 in the greater Xi’an area, China. Science of the Total Environment 715:136669.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huang, P, Zhang, J, Tang, Y, Liu, L. 2015. Spatial and temporal distribution of PM2.5 pollution in Xi’an city, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 12:6608–6625.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2007. Solomon, S, Qin, D, Manning, M, Chen, Z, Marquis, M, Averyt, KB, Tignor, M, Miller, HL, editors. Climate Change 2007: the physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, USA: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Keeling, CD. 1993. Global observations of atmospheric CO2 . In: the global carbon cycle, NATO ASI Series. New York: Springer-Verlag. p. 1–30.Google Scholar
Kuc, T, Rozanski, K, Zimnoch, M, Necki, J, Chmura, L, Jelen, D. 2007. Two decades of regular observations of 14CO2 and 13CO2 content in atmospheric carbon dioxide in central Europe: long-term changes of regional anthropogenic fossil CO2 emissions. Radiocarbon 49:807–816.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le Quéré, C, Andrew, RM, Friedlingstein, P, Sitch, S, Hauck, J, Pongratz, J, Pickers, PA, Korsbakken, JI, Peters, GP, Canadell, JG, et al, 2018. Global carbon budget 2018. Earth System Science Data 10:2141–2194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levin, I, Kromer, B, Schmidt, M, Sartorius, H. 2003. A novel approach for independent budgeting of fossil fuels CO2 over Europe by 14CO2 observations. Geophysical Research Letters 30:2194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levin, I, Munnich, K, Weiss, W. 1980. The effect of anthropogenic CO2 and 14C sources on the distribution of 14C in the atmosphere. Radiocarbon 22:379–381.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levin, I, Schuchard, J, Kromer, B, Munnich, KO. 1989. The continental European Suess effect. Radiocarbon 31:431–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marland, G, Boden, TA, Andres, RJ, Brenkert, A, Johnston, C. 2003. Global, regional, and national fossil fuel CO2 emissions. In: Trends: a compendium of data on global change. Oak Ridge (TN): Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy. p. 34–43.Google Scholar
MEE (Ministry of Ecology and Environment, China). 2016. Online monitoring and analysis platform of China air quality.Google Scholar
Miller, JB, Lehman, SJ, Montzka, SA, Sweeney, C, Miller, BR, Wolak, C, Dlugokencky, EJ, Southon, JR, Turnbull, JC, Tans, PP. 2012. Linking emissions of fossil fuel CO2 and other anthropogenic trace gases using atmospheric 14CO2 . Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 117:D08302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NBSC (National Bureau of Statistics of China). 2020. China statistical yearbook, 2020. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2020/indexch.htm.Google Scholar
Newman, S, Xu, XM, Gurney, KR, Hsu, YK, Li, KF, Jiang, X, Keeling, R, Feng, S, O’Keefe, D, Patarasuk, R, et al. 2016. Toward consistency between trends in bottom-up CO2 emissions and top-down atmospheric measurements in the Los Angeles megacity. Atmospheric Chemistry Physics 16(6):3843–3863.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niu, ZC, Feng, X, Zhou, WJ, Wang, P, Liu, Y, Lu, XF, Du, H, Fu, YC, Li, M, Mei, RC, et al. 2021. Tree-ring Δ14C time series from 1948–2018 at a regional background site, China: influences of atmospheric nuclear weapons tests and fossil fuel emissions. Atmospheric Environment 246:118156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niu, ZC, Zhou, WJ, Cheng, P, Wu, SG, Lu, XF, Xiong, XH, Du, H, Fu, YC. 2016a. Observations of atmospheric Δ14CO2 at the global and regional background sites in China: implication for fossil fuel CO2 inputs. Environmental Science & Technology 50(22):12122–12128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Niu, ZC, Zhou, WJ, Feng, X, Feng, T, Wu, SG, Cheng, P, Lu, XF, Du, H, Xiong, XH, Fu, YC. 2018. Atmospheric fossil fuel CO2 traced by 14CO2 and air quality index pollutant observations in Beijing and Xiamen, China. Environmental Science & Pollution Research 25:17109–17117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Niu, ZC, Zhou, WJ, Wu, SG, Cheng, P, Lu, XF, Xiong, XH, Du, H, Fu, YC, Wang, GH. 2016b. Atmospheric fossil fuel CO2 traced by Δ14C in Beijing and Xiamen, China: temporal variations, inland/coastal differences and influencing factors. Environmental Science & Technology 50(11):5474–5480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rafter, TA, Fergusson, GJ. 1957. “Atom Bomb Effect”—recent increase of carbon-14 content of the atmosphere and biosphere. Science 126(3273):557–558.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Riley, WJ, Hsueh, DY, Randerson, JT, Fischer, ML, Hatch, JG, Pataki, DE, Wang, W, Goulden, ML. 2008. Where do fossil fuel carbon dioxide emissions from California go? An analysis based on radiocarbon observations and an atmospheric transport model. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 113:G04002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shan, Y, Guan, D, Liu, J, Mi, Z, Liu, Z, Liu, J, Schroeder, H, Cai, B, Chen, Y, Shao, S, et al. 2017. Methodology and applications of city level CO2 emission accounts in China. Journal of Cleaner Production 161:1215–1225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suess, HE. 1955. Radiocarbon concentration in modern wood. Science 122(3166): 415–417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turnbull, J, Rayner, P, Miller, J, Naegler, T, Ciais, P, Cozic, A. 2009. On the use of 14CO2 as a tracer for fossil fuel CO2: quantifying uncertainties using an atmospheric transport model. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres 114(D22).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turnbull, JC, Miller, JB, Lehman, SJ, Tans, PP, Sparks, RJ, Southon, J. 2006. Comparison of 14CO2, CO, and SF6 as tracers for recently added fossil fuel CO2 in the atmosphere and implications for biological CO2 exchange. Geophysical Research Letters 33(1):L01817.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vogel, FR, Levin, I, Worthy, DEJ. 2013. Implications for deriving regional fossil fuel CO2 estimates from atmospheric observations in a hot spot of nuclear power plant 14CO2 emissions. Radiocarbon 55(2–3):1556–1572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xi, XT, Ding, XF, Fu, DP, Zhou, LP, Liu, KX. 2011. Regional Δ14C patterns and fossil fuel derived CO2 distribution in the Beijing area using annual plants. Chinese Science Bulletin 56:1721–1726.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xie, SW. 2016. Radiocarbon (14C) tracing the vertical variations of fossil fuel CO2 in typical area of Shaanxi province [master’s thesis]. Beijing, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.Google Scholar
Zhou, WJ, Wu, SG, Huo, WW, Xiong, XH, Cheng, P, Lu, XF, Niu, ZC. 2014. Tracing fossil fuel CO2 using Δ14C in Xi’an City, China. Atmospheric Environment 94:538–545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, WJ, Niu, ZC, Wu, SG, Xiong, XH, Hou, YY, Wang, P, Feng, T, Cheng, T, Du, H, Lu, XF, et al. 2020. Fossil fuel CO2 traced by radiocarbon in fifteen Chinese cities. Science of the Total Environment 729:138639.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zondervan, A, Meijer, HAJ. 1996. Isotopic characterisation of CO2 sources during regional pollution events using isotopic and radiocarbon analysis. Tellus B 48(4):601–612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Zhou et al. supplementary material

Zhou et al. supplementary material

Download Zhou et al. supplementary material(File)
File 629.7 KB