Bomb Produced 14C Content in Tree Rings Grown at Different Latitudes

Abstract

The 14C content in 1961-1967 rings of each of three spruce pines grown at (68 degrees N, 130 degrees W), (47 degrees 30' N, 129 degrees 16' E) and (27 degrees 13' N,100 degrees 20' E) were measured. Delta-14C values of the three specimens rise dramatically from a common level (~250 per mil) in 1961 to their respective maxima, 964 per mil, 909 per mil, and 743 per mil in 1964 and then fall to a common level ~680 per mil in 1967. The observed Delta-14C increase comes most likely from the nuclear bomb test of the USSR at 75 degrees N in 1961, although there were many other tests since the 1950s. The different effects at different latitudes reflect the atmospheric circulation patterns in the stratosphere and the transport of 14C nuclei from the stratosphere to the troposphere.