The evolution of the inorganic fluorine budget since the mid-1980s based on FTIR measurements at northern mid-latitudes

in Geophysical Research Abstracts (2011)

Fluorine enters the stratosphere principally in the form of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons, mainly CFC-12 and CFC-11), HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons, mainly HCFC-22) and HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons, mainly HFC ... [more ▼]

Fluorine enters the stratosphere principally in the form of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons, mainly CFC-12 and CFC-11), HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons, mainly HCFC-22) and HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons, mainly HFC-134a) which have been (or are still) widely emitted at ground level by human activities. In the lower stratosphere, the photolysis of these halogenated source gases leads to the formation of the two fluorine reservoirs COClF and COF2. The subsequent photolysis of these two compounds frees F atoms, which principally react with CH4 and H2O to form the extremely stable HF gas, by far the dominant fluorine reservoir in the middle and upper stratosphere. Despite the fact that fluorine does not significantly contribute in stratospheric ozone depletion, measurements of the concentrations of individual F-containing species in different altitude ranges of the atmosphere are important as they reflect the amounts of anthropogenic gases transported into the middle atmosphere as well as their decomposition. Such measurements also provide insight into the partitioning between major fluorine source gases (which are potent greenhouse gases) and reservoirs and allows a global inventory of organic (CFy), inorganic (Fy) and total (FTOT) fluorine burdens to be monitored as a function of time. Indeed, regular updates of such inventories are important as the partitioning between F-containing gases in the stratosphere is continually evolving as emissions of anthropogenic gases from the surface change, principally as a consequence of the progressive ban on the production of CFCs and HCFCs adopted by the Montreal Protocol and its subsequent Amendments and Adjustments. To complement recent studies regarding fluorine species (Duchatelet et al., 2009, 2010, 2011; Mahieu et al., 2011), this communication presents the time series of the inorganic fluorine budget Fy over the last twenty-five years, based on HF and COF2 total column amounts derived from high resolution Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) solar spectra recorded at Jungfraujoch (46.5°N, 8.0°E, 3580m asl). A trend analysis of our HF, COF2 and Fy time series is performed and discussed in the context of past and current emissions of halogenated source gases. Comparisons with model and space data are also included. [less ▲]

An approach to retrieve information on the carbonyl fluoride (COF2) vertical distributions above Jungfraujoch by FTIR multi-spectrum multi-window fitting

in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (2009), 9

We present an original multi-spectrum fitting procedure to retrieve volume mixing ratio (VMR) profiles of carbonyl fluoride (COF2) from ground-based high resolution Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) solar ... [more ▼]

We present an original multi-spectrum fitting procedure to retrieve volume mixing ratio (VMR) profiles of carbonyl fluoride (COF2) from ground-based high resolution Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) solar spectra. The multi-spectrum approach consists of simultaneously combining, during the retrievals, all spectra recorded consecutively during the same day and with the same resolution. Solar observations analyzed in this study with the SFIT-2 v3.91 fitting algorithm correspond to more than 2900 spectra recorded between January 2000 and December 2007 at high zenith angles, with a Fourier Transform Spectrometer operated at the high-altitude International Scientific Station of the Jungfraujoch (ISSJ, 46.5° N latitude, 8.0° E longitude, 3580 m altitude), Switzerland. The goal of the retrieval strategy described here is to provide information about the vertical distribution of carbonyl fluoride. The microwindows used are located in the ν4 or in the ν4 COF2 infrared (IR) absorption bands. Averaging kernel and eigenvector analysis indicates that our FTIR retrieval is sensitive to COF2 inversion between 17 and 30 km, with the major contribution to the retrieved information always coming from the measurement. Moreover, there was no significant bias between COF2 partial columns, total columns or VMR profiles retrieved from the two bands. For each wavenumber region, a complete error budget including all identified sources has been carefully established. In addition, comparisons of FTIR COF2 17–30 km partial columns with KASIMA and SLIMCAT 3-D CTMs are also presented. If we do not notice any significant bias between FTIR and SLIMCAT time series, KASIMA COF2 17–30 km partial columns are lower of around 25%, probably due to incorrect lower boundary conditions. For each times series, linear trend estimation for the 2000–2007 time period as well as a seasonal variation study are also performed and critically discussed. For FTIR and KASIMA time series, very low COF2 growth rates (0.4±0.2%/year and 0.3±0.2%/year, respectively) have been derived. However, the SLIMCAT data set gives a slight negative trend (−0.5±0.2%/year), probably ascribable to discontinuities in the meteorological data used by this model. We further demonstrate that all time series are able to reproduce the COF2 seasonal cycle, which main seasonal characteristics deduced from each data set agree quite well. [less ▲]