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The rapidly expanding and energy-intensive production from the Canadian oil sands, one of the largest oil reserves globally, accounts for almost 12 % of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions according to inventories. Developing approaches for evaluating reported methane (CH4) emission is crucial for developing effective mitigation policies, but only one study has characterized CH4 sources in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR). We tested the use of 14C and 13C carbon isotope measurements in ambient CH4 from the AOSR to estimate source contributions from key regional CH4 sources: (1) tailings ponds, (2) surface mines and processing facilities, and (3) wetlands. The isotopic signatures of ambient CH4 indicate that the CH4 enrichments measured at the site were mainly influenced by fossil CH4 emissions from surface mining and processing facilities (56 ± 18 %), followed by fossil CH4 emissions from tailings ponds (34 ± 18 %) and to a lesser extent modern CH4 emissions from wetlands (10 ± CH4 emissions and show that this method can successfully distinguish wetland CH4 emissions. In the future, the isotopic characterization of CH4 sources and measurements from different seasons and wind directions are needed to provide a better source attribution in the AOSR.

This paper presents a compilation of atmospheric radiocarbon for the period 1950–2019, derived from atmospheric CO2 sampling and tree rings from clean-air sites. Following the approach taken by Hua et al. (2013), our revised and extended compilation consists of zonal, hemispheric and global radiocarbon (14C) data sets, with monthly data sets for 5 zones (Northern Hemisphere zones 1, 2, and 3, and Southern Hemisphere zones 3 and 1–2). Our new compilation includes smooth curves for zonal data sets that are more suitable for dating applications than the previous approach based on simple averaging. Our new radiocarbon dataset is intended to help facilitate the use of atmospheric bomb 14C in carbon cycle studies and to accommodate increasing demand for accurate dating of recent (post-1950) terrestrial samples.

Direct atmospheric14CO2measurements began in New Zealand in 1954, initially to improve14C as a dating tool, but quickly evolving into a method for understanding the carbon cycle. These early14CO2measurements immediately demonstrated the existence of an “Atom Bomb Effect,” as well as an “Industrial Effect.” These two gigantic tracer experiments have been utilized via14CO2measurements over the years to produce a wealth of knowledge in multiple research fields including atmospheric carbon cycle research, oceanography, soil science, and aging of post-bomb materials.

To understand the Korean Peninsula's carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions and sinks as well as those of the surrounding region, we used 70 flask-air samples collected during May 2014 to August 2016 at Anmyeondo (AMY; 36.53 ∘ N, 126.32 ∘ E; 46 m a.s.l.) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station, located on the west coast of South Korea, for analysis of observed 14 C in atmospheric CO 2 as a tracer of fossil fuel CO 2 contribution ( Cff ). Observed 14 C ∕ C ratios in CO 2 (reported as Δ values) at AMY varied from −59.5 ‰ to 23.1 ‰, with a measurement uncertainty of ±1.8 ‰. The derived mean value Cff of ( 9.7±7.8 ) µ mol mol −1 ( 1σ ) is greater than that found in earlier observations from Tae-Ahn Peninsula (TAP; 36.73 ∘ N, 126.13 ∘ E; 20 m a.s.l., 28 km away from AMY) of ( 4.4±5.7 ) µ mol mol −1 from 2004 to 2010. The enhancement above background mole fractions of sulfur hexafluoride ( Δx(SF6) ) and carbon monoxide ( Δx(CO) ) correlate strongly with Cff ( r>0.7 ) and appear to be good proxies for fossil fuel CO 2 at regional and continental scales. Samples originating from the Asian continent had greater Δx(CO) : Cff(RCO) values, ( 29±8 ) to ( 36±2 ) nmol µ mol −1 , than in Korean Peninsula local air (( 8±2 ) nmol µ mol −1 ). Air masses originating in China showed ( 1.6±0.4 ) to ( 2.0±0.1 ) times greater RCO than a bottom-up inventory, suggesting that China's CO emissions are underestimated in the inventory, while observed RSF6 values are 2–3 times greater than inventories for both China and South Korea. However, RCO values derived from both inventories and observations have decreased relative to previous studies, indicating that combustion efficiency is increasing in both China and South Korea.

Acid-alkali-acid (AAA) pretreatment is widely used to clean terrestrial plant macrofossil samples for radiocarbon (14C) dating. There is wide variation amongst laboratories in the AAA method details and less rigorous AAA pretreatment is often used on fragile or small samples. Yet there is little evidence as to the efficacy of the different methods and whether the use of less rigorous methods is justified. We investigated four variations of AAA pretreatment: acid only (no alkali wash); room temperature AAA; “standard” AAA at 85°C; and “aggressive” AAA at 85°C with alkali washes repeated until no discoloration was detected. We tested six different terrestrial macrofossils from four different locations and ranging in age from mid-Holocene to the Last Glacial Maximum. Our results demonstrate that while acid only is not always sufficient to remove young material, there is no difference in 14C age of samples pretreated by any of the AAA variants. We also observed mass loss of 85–90% in the standard and aggressive AAA pretreatments, and much more modest mass loss in the room temperature AAA pretreatment. Therefore, we conclude that room temperature AAA pretreatment is optimal to remove contaminating material from fragile terrestrial macrofossils while retaining the majority of the authentic sample material.

Atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) is a key player in global atmospheric chemistry and a regulated pollutant in urban areas. Oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is an important component of the global CO budget and has also been hypothesized to contribute substantially to the summertime urban CO budget. In principle, stable isotopic analysis of CO could constrain the magnitude of this source. However, the isotopic signature of VOC-produced CO has not been well quantified, especially for the oxygen isotopes. We performed measurements of CO stable isotopes on air samples from two sites around Indianapolis, US, over three summers to investigate the isotopic signature of VOC-produced CO. One of the sites is located upwind of the city, allowing us to quantitatively remove the background air signal and isolate the urban CO enhancements. as well as the isotopic signature of these enhancements. In addition, we use measurements of Δ14CO2 in combination with the CO:CO2 emission ratio from fossil fuels to constrain the fossil-fuel-derived CO and thereby isolate the VOC-derived component of the CO enhancement. Combining these measurements and analyses, we are able to determine the carbon and oxygen isotopic signatures of CO derived from VOC oxidation as -32.8‰±0.5‰ and 3.6 ‰±1.2 ‰, respectively. Additionally, we analyzed CO stable isotopes for 1 year at Beech Island, South Carolina, US, a site thought to have large VOC-derived contributions to the summertime CO budget. The Beech Island results are consistent with isotopic signatures of VOC-derived CO determined from the Indianapolis data. This study represents the first direct determination of the isotopic signatures of VOC-derived CO and will allow for improved use of isotopes in constraining the global and regional CO budgets.

The Hikurangi subduction margin, New Zealand, has not produced large subduction earthquakes within the short written historic period (~180 years) and the potential of the plate interface to host large (M > 7) to great (M > 8) earthquakes and tsunamis is poorly constrained. The geological record of past subduction earthquakes offers a method for assessing the location, frequency and approximate magnitude of subduction earthquakes to underpin seismic and tsunami hazard assessments. We review evidence of Holocene coseismic coastal deformation and tsunamis at 22 locations along the margin. A consistent approach to radiocarbon age modelling is used and earthquake and tsunami evidence is ranked using a systematic assessment of the quality of age control and the certainty that the event in question is an earthquake. To identify possible subduction earthquakes, we use temporal correlation of earthquakes, combined with the type of earthquake evidence, likely primary fault source and the earthquake certainty ranking. We identify 10 past possible subduction earthquakes over the past 7000 years along the Hikurangi margin. The last subduction earthquake occurred at 520–470 years BP in the southern Hikurangi margin and the strongest evidence for a full margin rupture is at 870–815 years BP. There are no apparent persistent rupture patches, suggesting segmentation of the margin is not strong. In the southern margin, the type of geological deformation preserved generally matches that expected due to rupture of the interseismically locked portion of the subduction interface but the southern termination of past subduction ruptures remains unresolved. The pattern of geological deformation on the central margin suggests that the region of the interface that currently hosts slow slip events also undergoes rupture in large earthquakes, demonstrating different modes of slip behaviour occur on the central Hikurangi margin. Evidence for subduction earthquakes on the northern margin has not been identified because deformation signals from upper plate faults dominate the geological record. Large uncertainties remain in regard to evidence of past subduction earthquakes on the Hikurangi margin, with the greatest challenges presented by temporal correlation of earthquake evidence when working within the uncertainties of radiocarbon ages, and the presence of upper plate faults capable of producing deformation and tsunamis similar to that expected for subduction earthquakes. However, areas of priority research such as improving the paleotsunami record and integration of submarine turbidite records should produce significant advances in the future.

Urban areas contribute approximately three-quarters of fossil fuel derived CO2 emissions, and many cities have enacted emissions mitigation plans. Evaluation of the effectiveness of mitigation efforts will require measurement of both the emission rate and its change over space and time. The relative performance of different emission estimation methods is a critical requirement to support mitigation efforts. Here we compare results of CO2 emissions estimation methods including an inventory-based method and two different top-down atmospheric measurement approaches implemented for the Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A. urban area in winter. By accounting for differences in spatial and temporal coverage, as well as trace gas species measured, we find agreement among the wintertime whole-city fossil fuel CO2 emission rate estimates to within 7%. This finding represents a major improvement over previous comparisons of urban-scale emissions, making urban CO2 flux estimates from this study consistent with local and global emission mitigation strategy needs. The complementary application of multiple scientifically driven emissions quantification methods enables and establishes this high level of confidence and demonstrates the strength of the joint implementation of rigorous inventory and atmospheric emissions monitoring approaches.

As part of a geological survey in southwest mainland New Caledonia, potsherds were recorded in the profiles at four coastal sites. Subsequent archaeological investigations at two of these s...

Atmospheric observations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases have been widely used to constrain estimates of terrestrial and oceanic CO2 fluxes through atmospheric inverse modelling. Yet, applying these methods at national scale to verify and improve the National Inventory Report (NIR) and support the Paris agreement remains at the frontier of CO2 science.We use inverse modelling to estimate New Zealand’s carbon uptake and emissions using atmospheric measurements and model. This effort is part of a five year CarbonWatch-NZ research programme, which aims to develop a complete top-down picture of New Zealand's carbon balance using national inverse modelling and targeted studies of New Zealand’s forest, grassland and urban environments. In addition to quantifying New Zealand’s carbon emissions on a national scale, we also focus on identifying the prevailing processes driving CO2 changes in New Zealand to support climate mitigation.In an initial study based on the inversion system used in CarbonWatch-NZ, a significantly stronger (30-60 %) sink was found relative to the NIR (Steinkamp et al., 2017), suggesting a strong CO2 uptake in Fiordland, a region covered by indigenous temperate rainforest in New Zealand's South Island. Here, we present new results of CarbonWatch-NZ by expanding the studied time period from 2011-2013 to 2020, expanding our atmospheric observing network from two (Baring Head, 41.41°S, 174.87°E and Lauder, 38.33°S, 176.38°E) to a total of eleven in situ greenhouse gas measurement sites and improving our atmospheric model resolution by roughly a factor of ten (NAME model, 1.5 km).Our new results suggest that the strong sink observed in 2011-2013 did not diminish, but for recent years we have found an even stronger sink than for before. Additional measurements collected in the Fiordland region (i.e., mixing ratios, CO2 isotopes, carbonyl sulphide) also suggest a stronger CO2 uptake, supporting our inversion results. Both the measurements and inversion results show that the CO2 uptake does not seem to shut down completely during winter time, suggesting that there might be something about this ecosystem that we do not yet understand. This winter uptake signal is also present in independent data collected in and around New Zealand as part of the ATom campaigns (Atmospheric Tomography Mission). Implementing observations from an additional site in the North Island (Maunga Kakaramea, 45.034°S, 169.68°E) has increased the strength of the sink, pointing to additional strong sink region at the top of the North Island. ReferencesKay Steinkamp, Sara E. Mikaloff Fletcher, Gordon Brailsford, Dan Smale, Stuart Moore, Elizabeth D. Keller, W. Troy Baisden, Hitoshi Mukai and Britton B. Stephens, Atmospheric CO2 observations and models suggest strong carbon uptake by forests in New Zealand, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2017.

To understand the Korean Peninsula's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and sinks as well as those of the surrounding region, we used 70 flask-air samples collected during May 2014 to August 2016 at Anmyeondo (AMY; 36.53∘ N, 126.32∘ E; 46 m a.s.l.) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station, located on the west coast of South Korea, for analysis of observed 14C in atmospheric CO2 as a tracer of fossil fuel CO2 contribution (Cff). Observed 14C ∕ C ratios in CO2 (reported as Δ values) at AMY varied from −59.5 ‰ to 23.1 ‰, with a measurement uncertainty of ±1.8 ‰. The derived mean value Cff of (9.7±7.8) µmol mol−1 (1σ) is greater than that found in earlier observations from Tae-Ahn Peninsula (TAP; 36.73∘ N, 126.13∘ E; 20 m a.s.l., 28 km away from AMY) of (4.4±5.7) µmol mol−1 from 2004 to 2010. The enhancement above background mole fractions of sulfur hexafluoride (Δx(SF6)) and carbon monoxide (Δx(CO)) correlate strongly with Cff (r>0.7) and appear to be good proxies for fossil fuel CO2 at regional and continental scales. Samples originating from the Asian continent had greater Δx(CO) : Cff(RCO) values, (29±8) to (36±2) nmol µmol−1, than in Korean Peninsula local air ((8±2) nmol µmol−1). Air masses originating in China showed (1.6±0.4) to (2.0±0.1) times greater RCO than a bottom-up inventory, suggesting that China's CO emissions are underestimated in the inventory, while observed RSF6 values are 2–3 times greater than inventories for both China and South Korea. However, RCO values derived from both inventories and observations have decreased relative to previous studies, indicating that combustion efficiency is increasing in both China and South Korea. Since we confirmed the possibility to verify the bottom-up inventories using our measurement data, it will be presented the Korea IG3IS future plan in this presentation.

RATIONALE A combination of stable carbon (δ13 C) and hydrogen (δ2 H) isotope ratios and carbon content (% C) was evaluated as a rapid, low-cost analytical approach to authenticate bioplastics, complementing existing radiocarbon (14 C) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analytical methods. METHODS Petroleum- and bio-based precursor materials and in-market plastics were analysed and their δ13 C, δ2 H and % C values were used to establish isotope criteria to evaluate plastic claims, and the source and biocontent of the samples. 14 C was used to confirm the findings of the isotope approach and FTIR analysis was used to vertify the plastic type of the in-market plastics. RESULTS Distinctive carbon and hydrogen stable isotope ratios were found for authentic bio-based and petroleum-based precursor plastics, and it was possible to classify in-market plastics according to their source materials (petroleum, C3, C4, and mixed sources). An estimation of C4 biocontent was possible from a C4-petroleum isotope mixing model using δ13 C which was well correlated (R2 = 0.98) to 14 C. It was not possible to establish a C3-petroleum isotope mixing model due to δ13 C isotopic overlap with petroleum plastics; however, the addition of δ2 H and % C was useful to evaluate if petroleum-bioplastic mixes contained C3 bioplastics, and PLS-DA modelling reliably clustered each plastic type. CONCLUSIONS A combined dual stable isotope and carbon content approach was found to rapidly and accurately identify C3 and C4 bio-based products from their petroleum counterparts, and identify instances of petroleum and bio-based mixes frequently found in mislabelled bioplastics. Out of 37 in-market products labelled as bioplastic, 19 were found to contain varying amounts of petroleum-based plastic and did not meet their bio-based claims.

Background Networks of tower-based CO2 mole fraction sensors have been deployed by various groups in and around cities across the world to quantify anthropogenic CO2 emissions from metropolitan areas. A critical aspect in these approaches is the separation of atmospheric signatures from distant sources and sinks (i.e., the background) from local emissions and biogenic fluxes. We examined CO2 enhancements compared to forested and agricultural background towers in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, as a function of season and compared them to modeled results, as a part of the Indianapolis Flux (INFLUX) project. Results At the INFLUX urban tower sites, daytime growing season enhancement on a monthly timescale was up to 4.3–6.5 ppm, 2.6 times as large as those in the dormant season, on average. The enhancement differed significantly depending on choice of background and time of year, being 2.8 ppm higher in June and 1.8 ppm lower in August using a forested background tower compared to an agricultural background tower. A prediction based on land cover and observed CO2 fluxes showed that differences in phenology and drawdown intensities drove measured differences in enhancements. Forward modelled CO2 enhancements using fossil fuel and biogenic fluxes indicated growing season model-data mismatch of 1.1 ± 1.7 ppm for the agricultural background and 2.1 ± 0.5 ppm for the forested background, corresponding to 25–29% of the modelled CO2 enhancements. The model-data total CO2 mismatch during the dormant season was low, − 0.1 ± 0.5 ppm. Conclusions Because growing season biogenic fluxes at the background towers are large, the urban enhancements must be disentangled from the biogenic signal, and growing season increases in CO2 enhancement could be misinterpreted as increased anthropogenic fluxes if the background ecosystem CO2 drawdown is not considered. The magnitude and timing of enhancements depend on the land cover type and net fluxes surrounding each background tower, so a simple box model is not appropriate for interpretation of these data. Quantification of the seasonality and magnitude of the biological fluxes in the study region using high-resolution and detailed biogenic models is necessary for the interpretation of tower-based urban CO2 networks for cities with significant vegetation.

South American tropical climate is strongly related to the tropical low-pressure belt associated with the South American monsoon system. Despite its central societal role as a modulating agent of rainfall in tropical South America, its long-term dynamical variability is still poorly understood. Here we combine a new (and world's highest) tree-ring 14C record from the Altiplano plateau in the central Andes with other 14C records from the Southern Hemisphere during the second half of the 20th century in order to elucidate the latitudinal gradients associated with the dissemination of the bomb 14C signal. Our tree-ring 14C record faithfully captured the bomb signal of the 1960's with an excellent match to atmospheric 14C measured in New Zealand but with significant differences with a recent record from Southeast Brazil located at almost equal latitude. These results imply that the spreading of the bomb signal throughout the Southern Hemisphere was a complex process that depended on atmospheric dynamics and surface topography generating reversals on the expected north-south gradient in certain years. We applied air-parcel modeling based on climate data to disentangle their different geographical provenances and their preformed (reservoir affected) radiocarbon content. We found that air parcel trajectories arriving at the Altiplano during the bomb period were sourced i) from the boundary layer in contact with the Pacific Ocean (41%), ii) from the upper troposphere (air above the boundary layer, with no contact with oceanic or continental carbon reservoirs) (38%) and iii) from the Amazon basin (21%). Based on these results we estimated the ∆14C endmember values for the different carbon reservoirs affecting our record which suggest that the Amazon basin biospheric 14C isoflux could have been reversed from negative to positive as early as the beginning of the 1970's. This would imply a much faster carbon turnover rate in the Amazon than previously modelled.

Based on a uniquely dense network of surface towers measuring continuously the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs), we developed the first comprehensive monitoring systems of CO(2) emissions at high resolution over the city of Indianapolis. The urban inversion evaluated over the 2012–2013 dormant season showed a statistically significant increase of about 20% (from 4.5 to 5.7 MtC ± 0.23 MtC) compared to the Hestia CO(2) emission estimate, a state-of-the-art building-level emission product. Spatial structures in prior emission errors, mostly undetermined, appeared to affect the spatial pattern in the inverse solution and the total carbon budget over the entire area by up to 15%, while the inverse solution remains fairly insensitive to the CO(2) boundary inflow and to the different prior emissions (i.e., ODIAC). Preceding the surface emission optimization, we improved the atmospheric simulations using a meteorological data assimilation system also informing our Bayesian inversion system through updated observations error variances. Finally, we estimated the uncertainties associated with undetermined parameters using an ensemble of inversions. The total CO(2) emissions based on the ensemble mean and quartiles (5.26–5.91 MtC) were statistically different compared to the prior total emissions (4.1 to 4.5 MtC). Considering the relatively small sensitivity to the different parameters, we conclude that atmospheric inversions are potentially able to constrain the carbon budget of the city, assuming sufficient data to measure the inflow of GHG over the city, but additional information on prior emission error structures are required to determine the spatial structures of urban emissions at high resolution.

Global fossil fuel carbon dioxide (FFCO

International audience; Global fossil fuel carbon dioxide (FFCO 2) emissions will be dictated to a great degree by the trajectory of emissions from urban areas. Conventional methods to quantify urban FFCO 2 emissions typically rely on self-reported economic/energy activity data transformed into emissions via standard emission factors. However, uncertainties in these traditional methods pose a roadblock to implementation of effective mitigation strategies, independently monitor long-term trends, and assess policy outcomes. Here, we demonstrate the applicability of the integration of a dense network of greenhouse gas sensors with a science-driven building and street-scale FFCO 2 emissions estimation through the atmospheric CO 2 inversion process. Whole-city FFCO 2 emissions agree within 3% annually. Current self-reported inventory emissions for the city of Indianapolis are 35% lower than our optimal estimate, with significant differences across activity sectors. Differences remain, however, regarding the spatial distribution of sectoral FFCO 2 emissions, underconstrained despite the inclusion of coemitted species information.

The large amount of carbon stored in trees and soils of the Amazon rain forest is under pressure from land use as well as climate change. Therefore, various efforts to monitor greenhouse gas exchange between the Amazon forest and the atmosphere are now ongoing, including regular vertical profile (surface to 4.5 km) greenhouse gas measurements across the Amazon. These profile measurements can be used to calculate fluxes to and from the rain forest to the atmosphere at large spatial scales by considering the enhancement or depletion relative to the mole fraction of air entering the Amazon basin from the Atlantic, providing an important diagnostic of the state, changes and sensitivities of the forests. Previous studies have estimated greenhouse gas mole fractions of incoming air (&lsquo, background&rsquo, ) as a weighted mean of mole fractions measured at two background sites, Barbados (Northern Hemisphere) and Ascension (Southern hemisphere) in the Tropical Atlantic, where the weights were based on sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) measured locally (in the Amazon vertical profiles) and at the two background sites. However, this method requires the accuracy and precision of SF6 measurements to be significantly better than 0.1 parts per trillion (picomole mole&minus, 1), which is near the limit for the best SF6 measurements and assumes that there are no SF6 sources in the Amazon basin. We therefore present here an alternative method. Instead of using SF6, we use the geographical position of each air-mass back-trajectory when it intersects the limit connecting these two sites to estimate contributions from Barbados versus Ascension. We furthermore extend the approach to include an observation site further south, Cape Point, South Africa. We evaluate our method using CO2 vertical profile measurements at a coastal site in Brazil comparing with values obtained using this method where we find a high correlation (r2 = 0.77). Similarly, we obtain good agreement for CO2 background when comparing our results with those based on SF6, for the period 2010&ndash, 2011 when the SF6 measurements had excellent precision and accuracy. We also found high correspondence between the methods for background values of CO, N2O and CH4. Finally, flux estimates based on our new method agree well with the CO2 flux estimates for 2010 and 2011 estimated using the SF6-based method. Together, our findings suggest that our trajectory-based method is a robust new way to derive background air concentrations for the purpose of greenhouse gas flux estimation using vertical profile data.

To understand Korea's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and sinks as well as those of the surrounding region, we used 70 flask-air samples collected during May 2014 to August 2016 at Anmyeondo (AMY, 36.53° N, 126.32° E; 46 m a.s.l.) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station, located on the west coast of South Korea, for analysis of observed 14C in atmospheric CO2 as a tracer of fossil fuel CO2 contribution (Cff). Observed 14C / C ratios in CO2 at AMY varied from −59.5 to 23.1 ‰ with the measurement uncertainty of ±1.8 ‰. The derived mean value Cff of (9.7 ± 7.8) μmol mol−1 (1σ) is greater than that found in earlier observations from Tae-Ahn Peninsula (TAP, 36.73° N, 126.13° E, 20 m a.s.l., 24 km away from AMY) of (4.4 ± 5.7) μmol mol−1 from 2004 to 2010. The enhancement above background of sulfur hexafluoride (Δx(SF6)) and carbon monoxide (Δx(CO)) correlate strongly with Cff (r > 0.7) and appear to be good proxies for fossil fuel CO2 at regional and continental scales. Samples originating from the Asian continent had greater Δx(CO) : Cff (RCO) values, (29 ± 8) to (36 ± 2) nmol μmol−1, than in Korean local air ((8 ± 2) nmol μmol−1). Air masses originating in China showed (1.8 ± 0.2) times greater RCO than a bottom-up inventory suggesting that China's CO emissions are underestimated in the inventory. However, both RCO derived from inventories and observations have decreased relative to previous studies, indicating that combustion efficiency is increasing in both China and South Korea.

Most of the global population leaves in cities, expected to expand rapidly in the next decades. Cities and their industrial facilities are estimated to release more than 70% of fossil fuel CO2, although these estimates need to be verified at the city scale. Furthermore, cities are undergoing higher temperatures than their surrounding rural areas due to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) which also directly influence some CO2 fluxes (for example from buildings domestic heating, car air-conditioning, urban and rural vegetation uptake). Cities are thus strategic places where actions on mitigating CO2 emissions and also on lowering down atmospheric temperature elevation should be undertaken in priority.The ANR COoL-AMmetropolis project focuses on characterizing and mitigating CO2 emissions and UHI in the Aix-Marseille metropolis (AMm), of which the new governance entity is the “Metropole Aix-Marseille-Provence" (noted AMPM). AMm is the second most populated area of France (1.8 M inhabitants), is much industrialized, and is located in the PACA region strongly exposed to the risks of Climate Change. The objectives of the project are : (1) verifying and improving the spatio-temporal distribution of the AMm FFCO2 emissions estimates and quantifying their current contribution against natural fluxes, (2) characterizing the variability of the UHI and atmospheric CO2 at the diurnal, synoptic and seasonal scales in the AMm area, and modeling UHI and CO2 sources and sinks interactions at the local to the AMm scale; and (3) defining and evaluating the benefits of development scenarios of the AMm urban ecosystem to the horizon 2035 for mitigating both CO2 emissions and UHI, at the different scales, and find the most effective way to integrate the vertuous scenarios, defined in interaction with stakeholders, into legal and urban planning schemes, tools, charters or practices.To reach these objectives, a multidisciplinary Consortium made of 5 main partners (IMBE, CNRM, LIEU, AtmoSud, UMS Pytheas) and 6 non-funded partners (LSCE, INRA/URM, ESPACE, MIO, DTN, GNZ New-Zeeland) is proposed, ensuring complementarity between atmospheric physicists, urbanists, territorial jurists, emission stockcounters and AMm socio-economic actors with privileged links with local/regional stakeholders. Through its expertise and the organisation of annual seminars, GREC-SUD (sub-contract.) will reinforce these interactions.The project is organized in 4 workpackages. WP0 is dedicated to the project coordination. WP1 is assigned to the collection and analyzes of CO2 and UHI observations, and WP2 to the development and assessment of the CO2 and UHI modelling framework. WP1 and WP2 will feed WP3, dedicated to the role of the several levels in the AMPM in the governance for the urban adaptation strategies on the UHI and CO2 issues. It relies on legal documents analyses, multi-indicators evaluation of scenarios, and a strategy of ensuring regular interactions between the research community, local stakeholders & civil society throughout the full project duration.The ANR COoL-AMmetropolis is funded for 4 years, starting on January 2020.

We present results from the fifteenth annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin (https://library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?explnum_id=10100) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The results are based on research and observations performed by laboratories contributing to the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme (https://community.wmo.int/activity-areas/gaw).The Bulletin presents results of global analyses of observational data collected according to GAW recommended practices and submitted to the World Data Center for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG). Bulletins are prepared by the WMO/GAW Scientific Advisory Group for Greenhouse Gases in collaboration with WDCGG.Observations used for the global analysis are collected at more than 100 marine and terrestrial sites worldwide for CO2 and CH4 and at a smaller number of sites for other greenhouse gases. The globally averaged surface mole fractions calculated from this in situ network reached new highs in 2018, with CO2 at 407.8 ± 0.1 ppm, CH4 at 1869 ± 2 ppb and N2O at 331.1 ± 0.1 ppb. These values constitute, respectively, 147%, 259% and 123% of pre-industrial (before 1750) levels. The increase in CO2 from 2017 to 2018 is very close to that observed from 2016 to 2017 and practically equal to the average growth rate over the last decade. The increase of CH4 from 2017 to 2018 was higher than both that observed from 2016 to 2017 and the average growth rate over the last decade. The increase of N2O from 2017 to 2018 was also higher than that observed from 2016 to 2017 and the average growth rate over the past 10 years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI) shows that from 1990 to 2018, radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases (GHGs) increased by 43%, with CO2 accounting for about 81% of this increase.The Bulletin highlights the value of the long-term measurement of the GHGs isotopic composition. In particular, it presents the use of the radiocarbon and 13C measurements in atmospheric CO2 in discriminating between fossil fuel combustion and natural sources of CO2. The simultaneous decline in both 13C and 14C content alongside CO2 increases can only be explained by the ongoing release of CO2 from fossil fuel burning. The Bulletin also articulates how the measurements of the stable isotopes can be used to provide the insights into the renewed growth of methane that started in 2007. Though there are several hypotheses articulated in the peer-reviewed literature, the most plausible is that an increase has occurred in some or all sources of biogenic (wetlands, ruminants or waste) emissions, which contain relatively little 13C. An increase in the proportion of global emissions from microbial sources may have driven both the increase in the methane burden and the shift in δ13C-CH4.

Annually resolved (varved) lake sequences are important palaeoenvironmental archives as they offer a direct incremental dating technique for high-frequency reconstruction of environmental and climate change. Despite the importance of these records, establishing a robust chronology and quantifying its precision and accuracy (estimations of error) remains an essential but challenging component of their development. We outline an approach for building reliable independent chronologies, testing the accuracy of layer counts and integrating all chronological uncertainties to provide quantitative age and error estimates for varved lake sequences. The approach incorporates (1) layer counts and estimates of counting precision; (2) radiometric and biostratigrapic dating techniques to derive independent chronology; and (3) the application of Bayesian age modelling to produce an integrated age model. This approach is applied to a case study of an annually resolved sediment record from Lake Ohau, New Zealand. The most robust age model provides an average error of 72 years across the whole depth range. This represents a fractional uncertainty of ∼5%, higher than the

We present 60 years of Δ14CO2 measurements from Wellington, New Zealand (41° S, 175° E). The record has been extended and fully revised. New measurements have been used to evaluate the existing record and to replace original measurements where warranted. This is the earliest direct atmospheric Δ14CO2 record and records the rise of the 14C bomb spike and the subsequent decline in Δ14CO2 as bomb 14C moved throughout the carbon cycle and increasing fossil fuel CO2 emissions further decreased atmospheric Δ14CO2. The initially large seasonal cycle in the 1960s reduces in amplitude and eventually reverses in phase, resulting in a small seasonal cycle of about 2 ‰ in the 2000s. The seasonal cycle at Wellington is dominated by the seasonality of cross-tropopause transport and differs slightly from that at Cape Grim, Australia, which is influenced by anthropogenic sources in winter. Δ14CO2 at Cape Grim and Wellington show very similar trends, with significant differences only during periods of known measurement uncertainty. In contrast, similar clean-air sites in the Northern Hemisphere show a higher and earlier bomb 14C peak, consistent with a 1.4-year interhemispheric exchange time. From the 1970s until the early 2000s, the Northern and Southern Hemisphere Δ14CO2 were quite similar, apparently due to the balance of 14C-free fossil fuel CO2 emissions in the north and 14C-depleted ocean upwelling in the south. The Southern Hemisphere sites have shown a consistent and marked elevation above the Northern Hemisphere sites since the early 2000s, which is most likely due to reduced upwelling of 14C-depleted and carbon-rich deep waters in the Southern Ocean, although an underestimate of fossil fuel CO2 emissions or changes in biospheric exchange are also possible explanations. This developing Δ14CO2 interhemispheric gradient is consistent with recent studies that indicate a reinvigorated Southern Ocean carbon sink since the mid-2000s and suggests that the upwelling of deep waters plays an important role in this change.

We outline the methodology for detection of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) leaks to the atmosphere from carbon capture and storage (CCS) using measurements of radiocarbon in CO 2 . The radiocarbon method can unambiguously identify recently added fossil-derived CO 2 such as CCS leaks due to the very large isotopic difference between radiocarbon-free fossil derived CO 2 and natural CO 2 sources with ambient radiocarbon levels. The detection threshold of 1 ppm of fossil-derived CO 2 is comparable to other proposed atmospheric detection methods for CCS leakage. We demonstrate that this method will allow detection of a 1000 ton C yr −1 leak 200–300 m from the source during the day and more than 600 m away at night. Using time-integrated sampling techniques, long time periods can be covered with few measurements, making the method feasible with existing laboratory-based radiocarbon measurement methods We examine the method using previously published observations and new model simulations for a case study in Taranaki, New Zealand. Plant material faithfully records the radiocarbon content of assimilated CO 2 and we show that short-lived grass leaves and cellulose from tree rings provide effective time-integrated collection methods, allowing dense spatial sampling at low cost. A CO 2 absorption sampler allows collection at controlled times, including nighttime, and gives similar results.

Measurements of CO2 fluxes in temperate climates have shown that urban areas are a net source of CO2 and that photosynthetic CO2 uptake is generally not sufficient to offset local CO2 emissions. However, little is known about the role of vegetation in cities where biogenic CO2 uptake is not limited to a 2–8 months growing season. This study used the eddy covariance technique to quantify the atmospheric CO2 fluxes over a period of 12 months in a residential area in subtropical Auckland, New Zealand, where the vegetation cover (surface cover fraction: 47%) is dominated by evergreen vegetation. Radiocarbon isotope measurements of CO2 were conducted at three different times of the day (06:00–09:00, 12:00–15:00, 01:00–04:00) for four consecutive weekdays in summer and winter to differentiate anthropogenic sources of CO2 (fossil fuel combustion) from biogenic sources (ecosystem respiration, combustion of biofuel/biomass). The results reveal previously unreported patterns for CO2 fluxes, with no seasonal variability and negative (net uptake) CO2 midday fluxes throughout the year, demonstrating photosynthetic uptake by the evergreen vegetation all year-round. The winter radiocarbon measurements showed that 85% of the CO2 during the morning rush hour was attributed to fossil fuel emissions, when wind was from residential areas. However, for all other time periods radiocarbon measurements showed that fossil fuel combustion was not a large source of CO2, suggesting that biogenic processes likely dominate CO2 fluxes at this residential site. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of vegetation in residential areas to mitigate local CO2 emissions, particularly in cities with a climate that allows evergreen vegetation to maintain high photosynthetic rates over winter. As urban areas grow, urban planners need to consider the role of urban greenspace to mitigate urban CO2 emissions.

Radiocarbon in CO2 ((CO2)-C-14) measurements can aid in discriminating between fast ( 5-10 years) cycling of C between the atmosphere and the terrestrial biosphere due to the 14C disequilibrium between atmospheric and terrestrial C. However, (CO2)-C-14 in the atmosphere is typically much more strongly impacted by fossil fuel emissions of CO2, and, thus, observations often provide little additional constraints on respiratory flux estimates at regional scales. Here we describe a data set of (CO2)-C-14 observations from a tall tower in northern Wisconsin (USA) where fossil fuel influence is far enough removed that during the summer months, the biospheric component of the (CO2)-C-14 budget dominates. We find that the terrestrial biosphere is responsible for a significant contribution to (CO2)-C-14 that is 2-3 times higher than predicted by the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford approach terrestrial ecosystem model for observations made in 2010. This likely includes a substantial contribution from the North American boreal ecoregion, but transported biospheric emissions from outside the model domain cannot be ruled out. The (CO2)-C-14 enhancement also appears somewhat decreased in observations made over subsequent years, suggesting that 2010 may be anomalous. With these caveats acknowledged, we discuss the implications of the observation/ model comparison in terms of possible systematic biases in the model versus short-term anomalies in the observations. Going forward, this isotopic signal could be exploited as an important indicator to better constrain both the long-term carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems and the short-term impact of disturbance-based loss of carbon to the atmosphere.

We examine the utility of tree ring 14C archives for detecting long-term changes in fossil CO2 emissions from a point source. Trees assimilate carbon from the atmosphere during photosynthesis, in the process faithfully recording the average atmospheric 14C content in each new annual tree ring. Using 14C as a proxy for fossil CO2, we examine interannual variability over six years of fossil CO2 observations between 2004–2005 and 2011–2012 from two trees growing near the Kapuni Gas Treatment Plant in rural Taranaki, New Zealand. We quantify the amount of variability that can be attributed to transport and meteorology by simulating constant point-source fossil CO2 emissions over the observation period with the atmospheric transport model WindTrax. We compare model simulation results to observations and calculate the amount of change in emissions that we can detect with new observations over annual or multi-year time periods, given both the measurement uncertainty of 1ppm and the modelled variation in transport. In particular, we ask, what is the minimum amount of change in emissions that we can detect using this method, given a reference period of six years? We find that changes of 42 % or more could be detected in a new sample from one year at the same observation location or 22 % in the case of four years of new samples. This threshold is reduced and the method becomes more practical the more the size of the signal increases. For point sources 10 times larger than the Kapuni plant (a more typical size for power plants worldwide), it would be possible to detect sustained emissions changes on the order of 10 %, given suitable meteorology and observations.

Atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) is a regulated pollutant in urban centers. Oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been hypothesized to contribute substantially to the summertime urban CO budget. We performed measurements of CO stable isotopes on air samples from three sites in and around Indianapolis, USA over three summers to investigate the VOC contribution to urban CO. One of the sites is located upwind of the city, allowing us to quantitatively remove the background air signal and isolate the urban CO enhancements. The distinct isotopic signatures of CO produced from fossil fuel combustion and VOC oxidation allow us to separate contributions from these two sources. Our results provide the strongest empirical evidence to date of large contributions from VOC oxidation to the urban summertime CO source and show that this contribution varies in time and location between 0 and 58 %. We attribute the remainder of the Indianapolis summertime CO budget to fossil fuel combustion. We assess the reactivities of different VOCs and determine that biogenic sources are likely responsible for the majority of CO produced by VOC oxidation reactions within Indianapolis.

A detailed description is given of the 0.5 MV tandem accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) system for 10Be, 14C, 26Al, installed in early 2010 at GNS Science, New Zealand. Its design follows that of previously commissioned Compact 14C-only AMS (CAMS) systems based on the Pelletron tandem accelerator. The only basic departure from that design is an extension of the rare-isotope achromat with a 45° magnet and a two-anode gas-ionisation detector, to provide additional filtering for 10Be. Realised performance of the three AMS modes is discussed in terms of acceptance-test scores, 14C Poisson and non-Poisson errors, and 10Be detection limit and sensitivity. Operational details and hardware improvements, such as 10Be beam transport and particle detector setup, are highlighted. Statistics of repeat measurements of all graphitised 14C calibration cathodes since start-up show that 91% of their total uncertainty values are less than 0.3%, indicating that the rare-isotope beamline extension has not affected precision of 14C measurement. For 10Be, the limit of detection in terms of the isotopic abundance ratio 10Be/9Be is 6 × 10−15 at at−1 and the total efficiency of counting atoms in the sample cathode is 1/8500 (0.012%).

The Indianapolis Flux Experiment (INFLUX) aims to develop and assess methods for quantifying urban greenhouse gas emissions. Here we use CO2, 14CO2, and CO measurements from tall towers around Indianapolis, USA, to determine urban total CO2, the fossil fuel derived CO2 component (CO2ff), and CO enhancements relative to background measurements. When a local background directly upwind of the urban area is used, the wintertime total CO2 enhancement over Indianapolis can be entirely explained by urban CO2ff emissions. Conversely, when a continental background is used, CO2ff enhancements are larger and account for only half the total CO2 enhancement, effectively representing the combined CO2ff enhancement from Indianapolis and the wider region. In summer, we find that diurnal variability in both background CO2 mole fraction and covarying vertical mixing makes it difficult to use a simple upwind-downwind difference for a reliable determination of total CO2 urban enhancement. We use characteristic CO2ff source sector CO:CO2ff emission ratios to examine the contribution of the CO2ff source sectors to total CO2ff emissions. This method is strongly sensitive to the mobile sector, which produces most CO. We show that the inventory-based emission product (“bottom up”) and atmospheric observations (“top down”) can be directly compared throughout the diurnal cycle using this ratio method. For Indianapolis, the top-down observations are consistent with the bottom-up Hestia data product emission sector patterns for most of the diurnal cycle but disagree during the nighttime hours. Further examination of both the top-down and bottom-up assumptions is needed to assess the exact cause of the discrepancy.

This article describes a new capability for high-precision 14C measurement of CO2 from air at the Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, GNS Science, New Zealand. We evaluate the short-term within-wheel repeatability and long-term between-wheel repeatability from measurements of multiple aliquots of control materials sourced from whole air. Samples are typically measured to 650,000 14C counts, providing a nominal accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) statistical uncertainty of 1.3‰. No additional uncertainty is required to explain the within-wheel variability. An additional uncertainty factor is needed to explain the long-term repeatability spanning multiple measurement wheels, bringing the overall repeatability to 1.8‰, comparable to other laboratories measuring air materials to high precision. This additional uncertainty factor appears to be due to variability in the measured 14C content of OxI primary standard targets, likely from the combustion process. We observe an offset of 1.4‰ in our samples relative to those measured by the University of Colorado INSTAAR, comparable to interlaboratory offsets observed in recent intercomparison exercises.

A twelve-station tower-based observation network measuring CO2, CH4, and CO was deployed in and around the Indianapolis, IN metropolitan area as part of the Indianapolis Flux Experiment (INFLUX). Measurements began in 2010 and the full network was deployed by 2013. Observations were made at heights ranging from 39 to 136 m above ground level using existing communication towers. Several towers in the network had multiple measurement levels. Cavity ring-down spectrometers (CRDS) were used at all twelve sites and at least one calibrated reference tank was sampled daily at each site. Real time data communications were performed via cellular modems and data were transmitted daily for processing and quality assurance checks. Data quality control procedures were utilized to ensure compatibility within the INFLUX tower network and with global standards. For example, field target/calibration tanks were used to detect long-term instrument drift and instrument failure. Network-wide round robin tests were performed every 1–2 years to detect possible target tank drift and ensure network-wide comparability between measurements. NOAA flask packages were deployed at six of the INFLUX towers to provide a flask to in-situ direct comparison of the atmospheric samples. Results from these activities demonstrate that the compatibility of the CO2, CH4, and CO INFLUX in-situ tower-based measurements are less than or equal to 0.18 ppm CO2, 1.0 ppb for CH4, and 6 ppb for CO.

We assess the detectability of city emissions via a tower-based greenhouse gas (GHG) network, as part of the Indianapolis Flux (INFLUX) experiment. By examining afternoon-averaged results from a network of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and carbon monoxide (CO) mole fraction measurements in Indianapolis, Indiana for 2011–2013, we quantify spatial and temporal patterns in urban atmospheric GHG dry mole fractions. The platform for these measurements is twelve communications towers spread across the metropolitan region, ranging in height from 39 to 136 m above ground level, and instrumented with cavity ring-down spectrometers. Nine of the sites were deployed as of January 2013 and data from these sites are the focus of this paper. A background site, chosen such that it is on the predominantly upwind side of the city, is utilized to quantify enhancements caused by urban emissions. Afternoon averaged mole fractions are studied because this is the time of day during which the height of the boundary layer is most steady in time and the area that influences the tower measurements is likely to be largest. Additionally, atmospheric transport models have better performance in simulating the daytime convective boundary layer compared to the nighttime boundary layer. Averaged from January through April of 2013, the mean urban dormant-season enhancements range from 0.3 ppm CO2 at the site 24 km typically downwind of the edge of the city (Site 09) to 1.4 ppm at the site at the downwind edge of the city (Site 02) to 2.9 ppm at the downtown site (Site 03). When the wind is aligned such that the sites are downwind of the urban area, the enhancements are increased, to 1.6 ppm at Site 09, and 3.3 ppm at Site 02. Differences in sampling height affect the reported urban enhancement by up to 50%, but the overall spatial pattern remains similar. The time interval over which the afternoon data are averaged alters the calculated urban enhancement by an average of 0.4 ppm. The CO2 observations are compared to CO2 mole fractions simulated using a mesoscale atmospheric model and an emissions inventory for Indianapolis. The observed and modeled CO2 enhancements are highly correlated (r2 = 0.94), but the modeled enhancements prior to inversion average 53% of those measured at the towers. Following the inversion, the enhancements follow the observations closely, as expected. The CH4 urban enhancement ranges from 5 ppb at the site 10 km predominantly downwind of the city (Site 13) to 21 ppb at the site near the landfill (Site 10), and for CO ranges from 6 ppb at the site 24 km downwind of the edge of the city (Site 09) to 29 ppb at the downtown site (Site 03). Overall, these observations show that a dense network of urban GHG measurements yield a detectable urban signal, well-suited as input to an urban inversion system given appropriate attention to sampling time, sampling altitude and quantification of background conditions.

To effectively address climate change, aggressive mitigation policies need to be implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Anthropogenic carbon emissions are mostly generated from urban environments, where human activities are spatially concentrated. Improvements in uncertainty determinations and precision of measurement techniques are critical to permit accurate and precise tracking of emissions changes relative to the reduction targets. As part of the INFLUX project, we quantified carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH 4 ) emission rates for the city of Indianapolis by averaging results from nine aircraft-based mass balance experiments performed in November-December 2014. Our goal was to assess the achievable precision of the aircraft-based mass balance method through averaging, assuming constant CO 2 , CH 4 and CO emissions during a three-week field campaign in late fall. The averaging method leads to an emission rate of 14,600 mol/s for CO 2 , assumed to be largely fossil-derived for this period of the year, and 108 mol/s for CO. The relative standard error of the mean is 17% and 16%, for CO 2 and CO, respectively, at the 95% confidence level (CL), i.e. a more than 2-fold improvement from the previous estimate of ~40% for single-flight measurements for Indianapolis. For CH 4 , the averaged emission rate is 67 mol/s, while the standard error of the mean at 95% CL is large, i.e. ±60%. Given the results for CO 2 and CO for the same flight data, we conclude that this much larger scatter in the observed CH 4 emission rate is most likely due to variability of CH 4 emissions, suggesting that the assumption of constant daily emissions is not correct for CH 4 sources. This work shows that repeated measurements using aircraft-based mass balance methods can yield sufficient precision of the mean to inform emissions reduction efforts by detecting changes over time in urban emissions.

The objective of the Indianapolis Flux Experiment (INFLUX) is to develop, evaluate and improve methods for measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from cities. INFLUX’s scientific objectives are to quantify CO2 and CH4 emission rates at 1 km2 resolution with a 10% or better accuracy and precision, to determine whole-city emissions with similar skill, and to achieve high (weekly or finer) temporal resolution at both spatial resolutions. The experiment employs atmospheric GHG measurements from both towers and aircraft, atmospheric transport observations and models, and activity-based inventory products to quantify urban GHG emissions. Multiple, independent methods for estimating urban emissions are a central facet of our experimental design. INFLUX was initiated in 2010 and measurements and analyses are ongoing. To date we have quantified urban atmospheric GHG enhancements using aircraft and towers with measurements collected over multiple years, and have estimated whole-city CO2 and CH4 emissions using aircraft and tower GHG measurements, and inventory methods. Significant differences exist across methods; these differences have not yet been resolved; research to reduce uncertainties and reconcile these differences is underway. Sectorally- and spatially-resolved flux estimates, and detection of changes of fluxes over time, are also active research topics. Major challenges include developing methods for distinguishing anthropogenic from biogenic CO2 fluxes, improving our ability to interpret atmospheric GHG measurements close to urban GHG sources and across a broader range of atmospheric stability conditions, and quantifying uncertainties in inventory data products. INFLUX data and tools are intended to serve as an open resource and test bed for future investigations. Well-documented, public archival of data and methods is under development in support of this objective.

The INFLUX experiment has taken multiple approaches to estimate the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) flux in a domain centered on the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. One approach, Hestia, uses a bottom-up technique relying on a mixture of activity data, fuel statistics, direct flux measurement and modeling algorithms. A second uses a Bayesian atmospheric inverse approach constrained by atmospheric CO 2 measurements and the Hestia emissions estimate as a prior CO 2 flux. The difference in the central estimate of the two approaches comes to 0.94 MtC (an 18.7% difference) over the eight-month period between September 1, 2012 and April 30, 2013, a statistically significant difference at the 2-sigma level. Here we explore possible explanations for this apparent discrepancy in an attempt to reconcile the flux estimates. We focus on two broad categories: 1) biases in the largest of bottom-up flux contributions and 2) missing CO 2 sources. Though there is some evidence for small biases in the Hestia fossil fuel carbon dioxide (FFCO 2 ) flux estimate as an explanation for the calculated difference, we find more support for missing CO 2 fluxes, with biological respiration the largest of these. Incorporation of these differences bring the Hestia bottom-up and the INFLUX inversion flux estimates into statistical agreement and are additionally consistent with wintertime measurements of atmospheric 14 CO 2 . We conclude that comparison of bottom-up and top-down approaches must consider all flux contributions and highlight the important contribution to urban carbon budgets of animal and biotic respiration. Incorporation of missing CO 2 fluxes reconciles the bottom-up and inverse-based approach in the INFLUX domain.