CL
Climate: Past, Present & Future

Atmosphere

Bomb 14C – a tracer and time marker of the mid-20th century

and July 14, 2021
Bomb 14C – a tracer and time marker of the mid-20th century
Figure 1. Radiocarbon production and three main drivers of the variable atmospheric 14C content (modified figure [4]).

1950 CE is known as the year zero in the so-called ‘BP time scale.’ The BP stands for, “Before Present,” and has its roots in the development and conventions of radiocarbon dating [1]. The radioactive isotope of carbon (14C) with a half-life of 5700 years [2; 3] is a cosmogenic isotope produced in the atmosphere by secondary cosmic rays (SCR). Thermal neutrons, the SCR particle responsible for the ...[Read More]

Of butterflies and climate: how mathematics helps us to better understand the atmosphere

August 1, 2017

Applied mathematics is often seen as an obscure field, which the general public has no hope of ever understanding. In the context of climate science, this is far from the truth. In fact, many mathematical concepts and ideas applied to the study of the climate system stem from intuitive arguments. While their implementation can be very complex, understanding the basic ideas behind them does not req ...[Read More]