Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Carbon-14" in English language version.
All other atmospheric carbon dioxide comes from young sources–namely land-use changes (for example, cutting down a forest in order to create a farm) and exchange with the ocean and terrestrial biosphere. This makes 14C an ideal tracer of carbon dioxide coming from the combustion of fossil fuels. Scientists can use 14C measurements to determine the age of carbon dioxide collected in air samples, and from this can calculate what proportion of the carbon dioxide in the sample comes from fossil fuels.
All other atmospheric carbon dioxide comes from young sources–namely land-use changes (for example, cutting down a forest in order to create a farm) and exchange with the ocean and terrestrial biosphere. This makes 14C an ideal tracer of carbon dioxide coming from the combustion of fossil fuels. Scientists can use 14C measurements to determine the age of carbon dioxide collected in air samples, and from this can calculate what proportion of the carbon dioxide in the sample comes from fossil fuels.