BibTex format
@article{Laemmel:2026:10.5194/acp-26-12019-2026,
author = {Laemmel, T and Geissbühler, D and Henne, S and Fujita, R and Graven, H and Espic, C and Bantle, M and Haghipour, N and Conen, F and Brunner, D and Steinbacher, M and Zazzeri, G and Hammer, S and Leuenberger, M and Szidat, S},
doi = {10.5194/acp-26-12019-2026},
journal = {Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics},
pages = {12019--12036},
title = {Radiocarbon in atmospheric CH <sub>4</sub> and CO <sub>2</sub> at Jungfraujoch in 2019–2024: influence of regional nuclear emissions and current global atmospheric <sup>14</sup> CH <sub>4</sub> signal},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12019-2026},
volume = {26},
year = {2026}
}
RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)
TY - JOUR
AB - <jats:p>Abstract. Radiocarbon (14C) is a valuable tracer to determine the relative fossil fractions of emitted carbonaceous greenhouse gases, such as CO2 and CH4. While atmospheric Δ14CO2 measurements have been conducted at multiple sites for several decades, Δ14CH4 measurements remain more limited, mainly due to measurement challenges. In addition, 14CH4 emissions from nuclear power plants (NPPs) can complicate data interpretation. In this study, fortnightly Δ14CH4 and Δ14CO2 measurements at the Swiss High-Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch (JFJ, about 3500 m a.s.l.) between 2019 and 2024 are presented. Over this period, Δ14CH4 values showed an increase from 350 ± 19 ‰ to 381 ± 13 ‰, while Δ14CO2 values decreased from −2.0 ± 3.8 ‰ to −12.7 ± 2.0 ‰, respectively. The former is related to the slight increase of 14CH4 emissions from the nuclear industry over the last years, while the latter is linked to the continued dilution of the 14CO2 signal due to the release of 14C-devoid CO2 from combustion of fossil fuels. Despite its high elevation, JFJ is still influenced by NPPs operating in Europe. To assess the nuclear 14C contribution to our individual measurements, we use a combination of in situ 222Radon measurements and Lagrangian particle dispersion model convolved with bottom-up inventory of 14C emissions from NPPs. Furthermore, our Δ14CH4 measurements reasonably agree with simulated atmospheric values of Δ14CH4 estimated by a global atmospheric one-box model and an estimation of global nuclear 14CH4 emissions.</jats:p>
AU - Laemmel,T
AU - Geissbühler,D
AU - Henne,S
AU - Fujita,R
AU - Graven,H
AU - Espic,C
AU - Bantle,M
AU - Haghipour,N
AU - Conen,F
AU - Brunner,D
AU - Steinbacher,M
AU - Zazzeri,G
AU - Hammer,S
AU - Leuenberger,M
AU - Szidat,S
DO - 10.5194/acp-26-12019-2026
EP - 12036
PY - 2026///
SP - 12019
TI - Radiocarbon in atmospheric CH <sub>4</sub> and CO <sub>2</sub> at Jungfraujoch in 2019–2024: influence of regional nuclear emissions and current global atmospheric <sup>14</sup> CH <sub>4</sub> signal
T2 - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12019-2026
UR - https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12019-2026
VL - 26
ER -