Cited by 1,019Archaeology and ancient environmental studiesAtmospheric and Environmental Gas DynamicsGeology and Paleoclimatology Research

Atmospheric radiocarbon for the period 1950–2010

Open access
Hua, Quan, Barbetti, Mike, Rakowski, Andrzej Z·2013·Radiocarbon

Abstract

We present a compilation of tropospheric 14 CO 2 for the period 1950–2010, based on published radiocarbon data from selected records of atmospheric CO 2 sampling and tree-ring series. This compilation is a new version of the compilation by Hua and Barbetti (2004) and consists of yearly summer data sets for zonal, hemispheric, and global levels of atmospheric 14 C. In addition, compiled (and extended) monthly data sets for 5 atmospheric zones (3 in the Northern Hemisphere and 2 in the Southern Hemisphere) are reported. The annual data sets are for use in regional and global carbon model calculations, while the extended monthly data sets serve as calibration curves for 14 C dating of recent, short-lived terrestrial organic materials.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.2458/azu_js_rc.v55i2.16177

Cites

87 of 87 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The 14C bomb peak is commonly found in most carbon reservoirs around the globe.

    “This ' 14 C bomb peak' (Fig. 2) is commonly found in most carbon reservoirs around the globe (Reimer et al., 2004;Levin et al., 2008;Hua et al., 2013), it provides a high-resolution chronometer for current scientific use, and owing to a relatively long half-life (5730 a) it will in general be detectable as a 'spike' for ~50 000 years into the future.”

    From When did the Anthropocene begin? A mid-twentieth century boundary level is stratigraphically optimal (2015) · cites this paper as Hua et al., 2013

    The Introduction describes bomb radiocarbon as a tracer of exchanges between carbon reservoirs and the global carbon cycle, while the Zonal Tropospheric ¹⁴CO₂ section documents the atmospheric bomb peak and exchange with oceans and the biosphere. These passages support its presence across major reservoirs, but do not establish that the peak is commonly found in most carbon reservoirs worldwide. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The Turkish pine negative case observation indicates the relevance of specific growing season differences-where present, as in the Jordan example-above, and beyond, the small latitudinal gradient recognized in 14C values.

    “This negative case observation indicates the relevance of specific growing season differences—where present, as in the Jordan example—above, and beyond, the small latitudinal gradient recognized in 14C values (5–8).”

    From Mediterranean radiocarbon offsets and calendar dates for prehistory (2020) · cites this paper as [7]

    The ‘Zonal Tropospheric ¹⁴CO₂’ section says seasonal monsoons affected regional ¹⁴C levels beyond a simple latitudinal pattern. The paper also says values at different locations have been similar since 1973, but describes a large latitudinal gradient during the early bomb period. It does not assess the Turkish pine or Jordan observations; those are the citing authors’ examples, not findings attributable to this source. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The 14C bomb spike peak is diachronous between hemispheres.

    “However, the peak is diachronous between hemispheres ( 63 ; Fig. 4B).”

    From The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene (2016) · cites this paper as [63]

    The Zonal Tropospheric ¹⁴CO₂ section says northern mid-to-high latitudes peaked in 1963–1964 and describes differing ¹⁴C levels across hemispheres. It does not state when the Southern Hemisphere peaked, so the passages do not establish that the peaks occurred at different times (searched for Southern Hemisphere peak dates and a hemispheric time lag). (LLM, conf=0.72)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 13

  1. Mts Chiak and Kyeryong, Korea (36-37N, 127-128E; 1975, 1980-1981, 1985, 1990, 1995, 1999)
  2. Japan Mts Chiak and Kyeryong, Korea (36-37N, 127-128E; 1950, 1955, 1960, 1962-1966, 1970)
  3. Tree rings Mandla, India (23N, 81E; 1955, 1960, 1963, 1965)
  4. Doi Inthanon, Thailand (19N, 99E; 1950-1972) [15-16] https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.v55i2.16177 Published online by Cambridge University Press REFERENCES
  5. Hertelendi E, Csongor E. 1982. Anthropogenic 14 C ex- cess in the troposphere between 1951 and 1978 mea- sured in tree rings. Radiochemical and Radioanalyti- cal Letters 56:103-10.
  6. Hua Q, McDonald J, Redwood D, Drysdale R, Lee S, Fallon S, Hellstrom J. 2012a. Robust chronological re- https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.v55i2.16177 Published online by Cambridge University Press construction for young speleothems using radiocar- bon. Quaternary Geochronology 14:67-80.
  7. Kikata Y, Yonenobu H, Morishita F, Hattori Y. 1992. 14 C concentrations in tree stems. Bulletin of the Nagoya University Furukawa Museum 8:41-6. In Japanese.
  8. Kikata Y, Yonenobu H, Morishita F, Hattori Y, Marsoem SN. 1993. 14 C concentrations in tree stems I. Mokuzai Gakkaishi 39(3):333-7. In Japanese.
  9. Levin I, Kromer B, Schoch-Fischer H, Bruns M, Mün- nich M, Berdau D, Vogel JC, Münnich KO. 1985. 25 years of tropospheric 14 C observations in central Eu- rope. Radiocarbon 27(1):1-19.
  10. Levin I, Naegler T, Kromer B, Diehl M, Francey RJ, Go- mez-Pelaez AJ, Steele LP, Wagenbach D, Weller R, Worthy DE. 2010. Observations and modelling of the global distribution and long-term trend of atmospheric 14 CO 2 . Tellus B 62(1):26-46.
  11. Linacre E, Geerts B. 1997. Climates and Weather Ex- plained. London: Routledge.
  12. Nydal R, Lövseth K. 1996. Carbon-14 measurement in https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_js_rc.v55i2.16177 Published online by Cambridge University Press Q Hua et al. atmospheric CO 2 from Northern and Southern Hemi- sphere sites, 1962-1993. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, World Data Center-A for Atmo- spheric Trace Gases, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee.
  13. Park JH, Kim JC, Cheoun MK, Kim IC, Youn M, Liu YH, Kim ES. 2002. 14 C level at Mt Chiak and Mt Ky- eryong in Korea. Radiocarbon 44(2):559-66.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Hua, Q., Barbetti, M., & Rakowski, A. Z.
Affiliations
  • Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (AU)
  • Naresuan University (TH)
  • Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (DE)
Corresponding author
Hua, Quan
Venue
Radiocarbon
Published
2013
Volume
55
Issue
4
Pages
2059-2072
ISSN
  • 0033-8222 (ISSN-L)
  • 1945-5755
OpenAlex
W2139388007
Cited by
1,019
References
87
Citations by year
2026: 30 · 2025: 46 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 92 · 2022: 91 · 2021: 120 · 2020: 99 · 2019: 119 · 2018: 107 · 2017: 88 · 2016: 86 · 2015: 71 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 1
FWCI
42.66
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Radiocarbon (publishedVersion)
  • The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Institutional Repository (The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
Keywords
atmospheric radiocarbon, 14CO2, tropospheric CO2, tree-ring radiocarbon, carbon cycle modeling

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review