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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]
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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
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press for the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

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