G01_P11

Using ¹⁴CO₂ to derive fossile fule CO₂ in the UK.

Wenger A¹, Knowles T¹, Chawner H¹, RIgby M¹, O'Doherty S¹

¹University Of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom

Estimating the anthropogenic component of carbon dioxide emissions from direct measurements is difficult, due to the large natural carbon dioxide fluxes. One way of determining the fossil fuel component of atmospheric carbon dioxide is the use of radiocarbon measurements, as carbon from fossil fuel is completely devoid of radiocarbon due to its age. 

The DARE-UK project is attempting to use high frequency ¹⁴CO₂ observations at atmospheric observation sites to infer UK fossil fuel emissions.

We will present the first year of atmospheric ¹⁴CO₂ data from 2 UK sites and a background site in Ireland. To cope with the large sample volume, we partially automated the ¹⁴CO₂ sample preparation by developing an automated CO₂ extraction system, that interlinks with a commercially available graphitization system.