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Changes in mixing ratio and isotopic composition of CO2 in urban air from the Los Angeles basin, California, between 1972 and 2003

Newman, Sally and Xu, Xiaomei and Affek, Hagit P. and Stolper, Edward and Epstein, Samuel (2008) Changes in mixing ratio and isotopic composition of CO2 in urban air from the Los Angeles basin, California, between 1972 and 2003. Journal of Geophysical Research D, 113 (23). Art. No. D23304. ISSN 0148-0227. doi:10.1029/2008JD009999. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:NEWjgrd08

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Abstract

Atmospheric CO2 mixing ratios and C and O isotopic compositions are reported for the Los Angeles basin in southern California, a region renowned for its air pollution. Air samples collected midday on the Caltech campus in Pasadena, California, contained ∼30 ppm more CO2 in 1998–2003 than in 1972–1973 (averaging 397 ppm in 1998–2003 and 366 ppm in 1972–1973) compared to a 47 ppm change in background air CO2, yet the ranges of the carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions remained essentially constant. Because the 1998–2003 data show a significant progression through time, analysis was done on data from 2002 to 2003 complete calendar years (CO2 mixing ratios increased 41 ppm between 1972 and 1973 and 2002–2003). Both 1972–1973 and 2002–2003 data sets display significant correlation between δ 13C and 1/[CO2] with local CO2 source end-member δ 13C values of −30.9 ± 0.5‰ for 1972–1973 and −29.9 ± 0.2‰ for 2002–2003 (1σ errors). Mass balance calculations explain that this apparently coincidental similarity reflects a change in the relative proportion of natural gas and petroleum products burned in the region combined with a change in the origin, and thus isotopic composition, of the petroleum burned. The δ 13C of the average CO2 inventory in Pasadena can be explained by local addition to background air of 38 ± 4 ppm CO2 in 1972–1973 and 29 ± 3 ppm in 2002–2003 from anthropogenic sources, in seeming contradiction to the known increase in CO2 emissions between these two time periods.


Item Type:Article
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2008JD009999DOIArticle
ORCID:
AuthorORCID
Newman, Sally0000-0003-0710-995X
Stolper, Edward0000-0001-8008-8804
Additional Information:Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union. Received 20 February 2008; revised 6 June 2008; accepted 31 July 2008; published 5 December 2008. The authors appreciate the thoughtful discussions with John Eiler, Ian Kaplan, Jim Randerson, Lisa Welp, and Stanley Taylor. We thank Diane Pataki for sharing her Salt Lake City CO2 data, Eric Klinkner for providing data for natural gas consumption by Pasadena Power and Water, and NOAA-ESRL for providing the data for oceanic and coastal background air. The thoughtful, constructive comments of several anonymous reviewers are gratefully acknowledged. This project was initiated in the early 1970s by our colleague, Sam Epstein, who is often referred to as the father of stable isotope geochemistry. His first effort to publish it, with Claudio Rodrigues in the mid-1970s, was unsuccessful. But anyone who knew Sam knows that he never gave up. Although Sam died before this manuscript could be completed, it was a labor of love to complete it on his behalf, more than 35 years after he began this work. Support by the Department of Energy, grant DEFG03–85ER13445, is gratefully acknowledged. [S.E.] Deceased 17 September 2001.
Funders:
Funding AgencyGrant Number
Department of Energy (DOE)DE-FG03–85ER13445
Subject Keywords:carbon dioxide, urban atmosphere
Issue or Number:23
DOI:10.1029/2008JD009999
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:NEWjgrd08
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:NEWjgrd08
Official Citation:Newman, S., X. Xu, H. P. Affek, E. Stolper, and S. Epstein (2008), Changes in mixing ratio and isotopic composition of CO2 in urban air from the Los Angeles basin, California, between 1972 and 2003, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D23304, doi:10.1029/2008JD009999.
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:12850
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: Archive Administrator
Deposited On:08 Jan 2009 22:17
Last Modified:08 Nov 2021 22:33

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