Global and Regional Emissions of Radiocarbon from Nuclear Power Plants from 1972 to 2016

Zazzeri, Giulia; Yeomans, E Acuña; Graven, Heather

doi:10.1017/rdc.2018.42

Cited by 25 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The amount of 14 C produced by the nuclear industry and released to the atmosphere is only about 10% of the natural production of 14 C (Graven & Gruber, 2011), so the effects on Δ 14 CO 2 are much smaller than the effects from the nuclear weapons testing, which, in contrast, exceeded the rate of natural production by 2 orders of magnitude (Naegler & Levin, 2006). Nuclear power plant emissions ramped up between the 1970s and 1990s as the nuclear industry expanded, but they appear to have recently started to fall (Zazzeri et al, 2018).…”

Section: The Nuclear Bomb Effect For 14cmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes to Carbon Isotopes in Atmospheric CO₂ Over the Industrial Era and Into the Future

Graven

Keeling

Rogelj

2020

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

107

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In this "Grand Challenges" paper, we review how the carbon isotopic composition of atmospheric CO 2 has changed since the Industrial Revolution due to human activities and their influence on the natural carbon cycle, and we provide new estimates of possible future changes for a range of scenarios. Emissions of CO 2 from fossil fuel combustion and land use change reduce the ratio of 13 C/ 12 C in atmospheric CO 2 (δ 13 CO 2). This is because 12 C is preferentially assimilated during photosynthesis and δ 13 C in plant-derived carbon in terrestrial ecosystems and fossil fuels is lower than atmospheric δ 13 CO 2. Emissions of CO 2 from fossil fuel combustion also reduce the ratio of 14 C/C in atmospheric CO 2 (Δ 14 CO 2) because 14 C is absent in million-year-old fossil fuels, which have been stored for much longer than the radioactive decay time of 14 C. Atmospheric Δ 14 CO 2 rapidly increased in the 1950s to 1960s because of 14 C produced during nuclear bomb testing. The resulting trends in δ 13 C and Δ 14 C in atmospheric CO 2 are influenced not only by these human emissions but also by natural carbon exchanges that mix carbon between the atmosphere and ocean and terrestrial ecosystems. This mixing caused Δ 14 CO 2 to return toward preindustrial levels in the first few decades after the spike from nuclear testing. More recently, as the bomb 14 C excess is now mostly well mixed with the decadally overturning carbon reservoirs, fossil fuel emissions have become the main factor driving further decreases in atmospheric Δ 14 CO 2. For δ 13 CO 2 , in addition to exchanges between reservoirs, the extent to which 12 C is preferentially assimilated during photosynthesis appears to have increased, slowing down the recent δ 13 CO 2 trend slightly. A new compilation of ice core and flask δ 13 CO 2 observations indicates that the decline in δ 13 CO 2 since the preindustrial period is less than some prior estimates, which may have incorporated artifacts owing to offsets from different laboratories' measurements. Atmospheric observations of δ 13 CO 2 have been used to investigate carbon fluxes and the functioning of plants, and they are used for comparison with δ 13 C in other materials such as tree rings. Atmospheric observations of Δ 14 CO 2 have been used to quantify the rate of air-sea gas exchange and ocean circulation, and the rate of net primary production and the turnover time of carbon in plant material and soils. Atmospheric observations of Δ 14 CO 2 are also used for comparison with Δ 14 C in other materials in many fields such as archaeology, forensics, and physiology. Another major application is the assessment of regional emissions of CO 2 from fossil fuel combustion using Δ 14 CO 2 observations and models. In the future, δ 13 CO 2 and Δ 14 CO 2 will continue to change. The sign and magnitude of the changes are mainly determined by global fossil fuel emissions. We present here simulations of future δ 13 CO 2 and Δ 14 CO 2 for six scenarios based on the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) from the 6th Coupled Model...

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Section: The Nuclear Bomb Effect For 14cmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes to Carbon Isotopes in Atmospheric CO₂ Over the Industrial Era and Into the Future

Graven

Keeling

Rogelj

2020

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

107

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“…Nuclear power plants of the pressurized water reactor type produce gaseous emissions of 14 C that are primarily in the form of 14 CH 4 (Kunz, 1985;Zazzeri et al, 2018). In California, there is one nuclear site with two pressurized water reactors operating, Diablo Canyon, located in the central coast region ( (2010), not actual measurements of emissions.…”

Section: Simulations Including Nuclear Power Plant 14 Ch 4 Emissionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of Fossil and Biogenic Methane at Regional Scales Using Atmospheric Radiocarbon

2019

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Regional emissions of methane and their attribution to a variety of sources presently have large uncertainties. Measurements of radiocarbon ( 14 C) in methane (CH 4 ) may provide a method for identifying regional CH 4 emissions from fossil versus biogenic sources because adding 14 C‐free fossil carbon reduces the 14 C/C ratio (Δ 14 CH 4 ) in atmospheric CH 4 much more than biogenic carbon does. We describe an approach for estimating fossil and biogenic CH 4 at regional scales using atmospheric Δ 14 CH 4 observations. As a case study to demonstrate expected Δ 14 CH 4 and Δ 14 CH 4 ‐CH 4 relationships, we simulate and compare Δ 14 CH 4 at a network of sites in California using two gridded CH 4 emissions estimates (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, EDGAR, and Gridded Environmental Protection Agency, GEPA) and the CarbonTracker‐Lagrange model for 2014, and for 2030 under business‐as‐usual and mitigation scenarios. The fossil fraction of CH 4 (F) is closely linked with the simulated Δ 14 CH 4 ‐CH 4 slope and differences of 2–21% in median F are found for EDGAR versus GEPA in 2014, and 7–10% for business‐as‐usual and mitigation scenarios in 2030. Differences of 10% in F for >200 ppb of added CH 4 produce differences of >10‰ in Δ 14 CH 4 , which are likely detectable from regular observations. Nuclear power plant 14 CH 4 emissions generally have small simulated median influences on Δ 14 CH 4 (0–7‰), but under certain atmospheric conditions they can be much stronger (>30‰) suggesting they must be considered in applications of Δ 14 CH 4 in California. This study suggests that atmospheric Δ 14 CH 4 measurements could provide powerful constraints on regional CH 4 emissions, complementary to other monitoring techniques.

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“…[32] Even though radiocarbon measurements of atmospheric methane may also provide an identification of CH 4 sources, 14 CH 4 measurements have seldom been used for this purpose, as large air samples are required, a quantitative separation of CH 4 from CO 2 and other carbon-containing gases is prerequisite and 14 CH 4 emissions of nuclear power plants (NPPs) may interfere with this approach. [33] In order to measure 14 CH 4 , we developed and validated a setup with which methane is preconcentrated from 50-200 L Fig. 3.…”

Section: Investigation Of the Environment And Irradiated Nuclear Wast...mentioning

confidence: 99%

14C Research at the Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA), University of Bern

Szidat

2020

Chimia

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The Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA) at the University of Bern measures the radioactive carbon isotope 14C with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) in different applications. Besides radiocarbon dating of environmental and archaeological samples, the LARA focuses on source apportionment of air-borne particulate matter (i.e. aerosols) as well as greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. This approach allows the identification and quantification of fossil carbon emissions in these air components, which is relevant for measures of air-quality improvement. The LARA furthermore develops instrumental setups for and at the AMS in order to analyze 14C samples in μg-amounts with low contamination and high throughput, preferably using online-hyphenated systems.

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Global and Regional Emissions of Radiocarbon from Nuclear Power Plants from 1972 to 2016

Cited by 25 publications

References 27 publications

Changes to Carbon Isotopes in Atmospheric CO₂ Over the Industrial Era and Into the Future

Changes to Carbon Isotopes in Atmospheric CO₂ Over the Industrial Era and Into the Future

Detection of Fossil and Biogenic Methane at Regional Scales Using Atmospheric Radiocarbon

14C Research at the Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA), University of Bern

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Global and Regional Emissions of Radiocarbon from Nuclear Power Plants from 1972 to 2016

Cited by 25 publications

References 27 publications

Changes to Carbon Isotopes in Atmospheric CO2 Over the Industrial Era and Into the Future

Changes to Carbon Isotopes in Atmospheric CO2 Over the Industrial Era and Into the Future

Detection of Fossil and Biogenic Methane at Regional Scales Using Atmospheric Radiocarbon

14C Research at the Laboratory for the Analysis of Radiocarbon with AMS (LARA), University of Bern

Contact Info

Product

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Changes to Carbon Isotopes in Atmospheric CO₂ Over the Industrial Era and Into the Future

Changes to Carbon Isotopes in Atmospheric CO₂ Over the Industrial Era and Into the Future