Work

Anthropogenic CO2in the Dakar (Senegal) Urban Area Deduced from14C Concentration in Tree Leaves

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: Radiocarbon (14C) in atmospheric CO2for the Dakar (Senegal) urban area was measured using tree leaves collected by botanists from 1900 to 2003. The aim of our study was to compare the local Suess effect in Dakar to the global one during the 20th century. The ∆14C of atmospheric CO2in this region decreased from 1900 to 1958 during the pre-bomb era (–2±5‰ to –22±4‰). From 1958 to 1964, nuclear bomb tests injected a large amount of artificial14C into the atmosphere, reflected in the rise of ∆14C values. In the Dakar region, the atmospheric ∆14C reached 773±8‰ in 1964, but subsequently decreased to 80±5‰ by 2003, which is consistent with the global exponential decreasing trend. The ∆14C record presented here remains slightly lower than the global record. This result is attributed to the input of anthropogenic fossil carbon into the atmosphere. The amount of carbon input can be evaluated by comparing urban areas to those of clean air sites. The calculation of anthropogenic fossil carbon is deduced from a simple mathematical model.

Source: Radiocarbon

DOI: 10.1017/rdc.2017.48

Authors: Maurice Ndeye, Matar Sène, Doudou Diop, Jean-François Saliège

Institutions: Cheikh Anta Diop University, Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie

Language: English

Topic: Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: green

Funder: Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar