Atmospheric 14CO2 over the mid Pacific Ocean and at Point Barrow, Alaska, USA from 2002 to 2004Xiaomei XU (xxu@uci.edu), Susan TRUMBORE, Henry AJIE, Stanley TYLER, and Jim RANDERSONEarth System Science Department, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697/USANir KRAKAUER Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, MC 100-23, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125/USA
Atmospheric 14CO2 over the mid Pacific Ocean and at Point Barrow, Alaska, USA from 2002 to 2004Xiaomei XU (xxu@uci.edu), Susan TRUMBORE, Henry AJIE, Stanley TYLER, and Jim RANDERSONEarth System Science Department, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697/USANir KRAKAUER Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, MC 100-23, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125/USA
UCI
University of California, Irvine B23A-0948 14CO2 is a useful tracer for studying the carbon cycle, in terms of determining residence times and fluxes between different carbon reservoirs, and understanding the various underlying processes. Knowledge of the regional and global distribution of atmospheric 14CO2 is essential for many of these applications. We have recently begun measuring atmospheric 14C in the mid-Pacific and at stations in the U.S. to enhance our understanding of the patterns of atmospheric 14C distribution and its seasonal variation. INTRODUCTION SAMPLE COLLECTION AND MEASUREMENT CONCLUSIONS RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Atmospheric CO2 samples over the Pacific Ocean were collected in two shipboard transects. The first one is between Manzanillo, Mexico (16°N, 109°W) and Auckland, New Zealand (34°N, 177°W) from Sept. 23 to Oct. 4, 2002. The second transect is between Los Angeles, US (34°N, 118°W) and Auckland from July 28 to Aug. 10, 2003. Upon returning to the lab, CO2 is cryogenically purified on a vacuum line, sub sampled for d13C analysis, and then reduced to graphite using titanium hydride, zinc, and a cobalt catalyst [2]. The graphite is analyzed for 14C at the W.M. Keck AMS facility at UC Irvine. These air samples were also measured for C-trace gas abundance (CO, CH4 in addition to CO2, and their stable isotopes). We have also been monitoring 14CO2 from three fixed surface sites in the US: a coastal site at Point Barrow, Alaska (71°N,...
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