¹⁴C Bomb Effect in Tree Rings of Tropical and Subtropical Species of Brazil

Abstract

Atmospheric nuclear tests in the early 1960s introduced large amounts of radiocarbon into the atmosphere, which resulted in an increase of tropospheric ¹⁴CO₂ concentration by nearly 100% during the years 1964-1965. The bomb-produced ¹⁴C was then gradually incorporated within the global carbon cycle. The history of ¹⁴C concentration in the troposphere is preserved within annual growth layers of trees and can be reconstructed for those areas where direct measurements of 14C in the atmosphere were not performed. The paper presents results of ¹⁴C activity measurements in tree rings of tropical and subtropical species from Brazil, for the period 1945-1997. We investigated two species ( Araucaria angustifolia and Parkia sp.) growing at three sites covering the latitudinal band between 7 °S and 24 °S. The results indicate that the maximum ¹⁴C activity in the Southern Hemisphere occurred in 1965, with the Δ¹⁴C values reaching around 700%. Significant differences in Δ¹⁴C were recorded among the studied sites for the period of maximal ¹⁴C levels in the atmosphere, with the highest level observed at the tropical site and lowest in the subtropical zone. This reflects the dynamics of interhemispheric transport of ¹⁴C during the years of high spatial and temporal gradients of this isotope in the atmosphere.