Articles | Volume 25, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10479-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10479-2025
Research article
 | 
15 Sep 2025
Research article |  | 15 Sep 2025

Mid-Atlantic US observations of radiocarbon in CO2: fossil and biogenic source partitioning and model evaluation

Bianca C. Baier, John B. Miller, Colm Sweeney, Scott J. Lehman, Chad Wolak, Joshua P. DiGangi, Yonghoon Choi, Kenneth Davis, Sha Feng, and Thomas Lauvaux

Related authors

CO2 variability and seasonal cycle in the UTLS: Insights from EMAC model and AirCore observational data
Johannes Degen, Bianca C. Baier, Patrick Jöckel, J. Moritz Menken, Tanja J. Schuck, Colm Sweeney, and Andreas Engel
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2648,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2648, 2025
Short summary
Advancing CH4 and N2O retrieval strategies for NDACC/IRWG FTIR observations with the support of airborne in situ measurements
Ivan Ortega, James W. Hannigan, Bianca C. Baier, Kathryn McKain, and Dan Smale
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2353–2371, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2353-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2353-2025, 2025
Short summary
Quantification of regional net CO2 flux errors in the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) v10 model intercomparison project (MIP) ensemble using airborne measurements
Jeongmin Yun, Junjie Liu, Brendan Byrne, Brad Weir, Lesley E. Ott, Kathryn McKain, Bianca C. Baier, Luciana V. Gatti, and Sebastien C. Biraud
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1725–1748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1725-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1725-2025, 2025
Short summary
Age of air from in situ trace gas measurements: insights from a new technique
Eric A. Ray, Fred L. Moore, Hella Garny, Eric J. Hintsa, Bradley D. Hall, Geoff S. Dutton, David Nance, James W. Elkins, Steven C. Wofsy, Jasna Pittman, Bruce Daube, Bianca C. Baier, Jianghanyang Li, and Colm Sweeney
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12425–12445, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12425-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12425-2024, 2024
Short summary
Methane retrieval from MethaneAIR using the CO2 proxy approach: a demonstration for the upcoming MethaneSAT mission
Christopher Chan Miller, Sébastien Roche, Jonas S. Wilzewski, Xiong Liu, Kelly Chance, Amir H. Souri, Eamon Conway, Bingkun Luo, Jenna Samra, Jacob Hawthorne, Kang Sun, Carly Staebell, Apisada Chulakadabba, Maryann Sargent, Joshua S. Benmergui, Jonathan E. Franklin, Bruce C. Daube, Yang Li, Joshua L. Laughner, Bianca C. Baier, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, and Steven C. Wofsy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5429–5454, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5429-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5429-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Andres, R. J., Boden, T. A., Breon, F.-M., Ciais, P., Davis, S., Erickson, D., Gregg, J. S., Jacobson, A., Marland, G., Miller, J., Oda, T., Oliver, J. G. J., Raupach, M. R., Rayner, P., and Treanton, K.: A synthesis of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel combustion, J. Biogeosciences, 9, 1845–1871, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-1845-2012, 2012. 
Baier, B. C., Sweeney, C., Choi, Y., Davis, K. J., DiGangi, J. P., Feng, S., Fried, A., Halliday, H., Higgs, J., Lauvaux, T., Miller, B. R., Montzka, S. A., Newberger, T., Nowak, J. B., Patra, P., Richter, D., Walega, J., and Weibring, P.: Multispecies Assessment of Factors Influencing Regional CO2 and CH4 Enhancements During the Winter 2017 ACT-America Campaign, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 125, e2019JD031339, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031339, 2020. 
Baier, B., Lehman, S., Miller, J., Wolak, C., and NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory: Data in support of “Mid-Atlantic U.S. observations of radiocarbon in CO2: biogenic and fossil source partitioning and model comparisons”, Version 20241105, NOAA GML [Data set], https://doi.org/10.15138/87NY-6277, 2024. 
Ballantyne, A. P., Alden, C. B., Miller, J. B., Tans, P. P., and White, J. W. C.: Increase in observed net carbon dioxide uptake by land and oceans during the past 50 years, Nature, 488, 70–72, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11299, 2012. 
Basu, S., Miller, J. B., and Lehman, S.: Separation of biospheric and fossil fuel fluxes of CO2 by atmospheric inversion of CO2 and 14CO2 measurements: Observation System Simulations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5665–5683, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5665-2016, 2016. 
Download
Short summary
CO2 radiocarbon content (Δ14CO2) is a unique tracer that helps to accurately quantify anthropogenic CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. Δ14CO2 measured in airborne flask samples is used to distinguish fossil versus biogenic CO2 sources. Mid-Atlantic US CO2 variability is found to be driven by the biosphere. Errors in modeled fossil fuel CO2 are evaluated using Δ14CO2 airborne data as an avenue to improving future regional models of atmospheric CO2 transport.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint