In order to investigate the greenhouse gas effect in Europe, one has to measure the concentrations of CO2 from fossil fuels at different places all over the continent. This could be done with 14C tests of air samples, but the same types of measurements can also be carried out on plants that have absorbed CO2. To that end one would need plant material that is known to come from a specific region and also know which year it grew in.

Wine is the ideal research material, thought researchers from the Centre for Isotope Research (CIO) of the University of Groningen.

CO2 in the atmosphere can come from various sources. Humans and animals breathe it out, it comes out of the earth when organic material decays, and it is also created by burning fossil fuels like coal, petrol and natural gas. CO2 formed in this way contributes to the strengthening of the greenhouse effect, and thus to a warmer climate. However, part of it is absorbed by plants that convert it with the help of sunlight into sugars.

Old wine bottles. The alcohol in wines is the result of the fermentation of plant sugars in the wine grape. The carbon atoms in the alcohol molecule can be directly traced back to the carbon atom in carbon dioxide. By analysing the amount of carbon-14 (14C) in the alcohol, one can find out what the percentage of CO2 from fossil fuels was in the atmosphere when the grapes were ripening. (Credit: iStockphoto/Manuel Velasco)

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