Two Decades of Environmental Isotope Records in Croatia: Reconstruction of the Past and Prediction of Future Levels

A two-decade-long record of environmental isotopes (²H, ³H, ¹⁴C, ¹⁸O) in Croatia is presented and the data are statistically analyzed. The atmospheric ¹⁴C activity for the period before the actual measurements started is reconstructed by measuring tree rings from the clean-air sites, and the past tritium activity in precipitation is estimated by the correlation of our data with the Vienna station record. The long-term ³H record helped to determine a locally contaminated sampling site, and new clean sites are put into operation. The ¹⁴C data were fitted by an analytical function and the prediction of future levels is given assuming that the rate of the ¹⁴C releases remains constant. From the long-term stable isotope data record, the local meteoric water line and the temperature gradient of delta¹⁸O in precipitation are determined.

[Radiocarbon Volume 40, Numbers 1-2, 1998]