Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
DOI
10.1029/2018JD029400
Publication Title
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Volume
124
Issue
4
Pages
2318-2335
Abstract
Very short‐lived substances (VSLS), including dichloromethane (CH2Cl2), chloroform (CHCl3), perchloroethylene (C2Cl4), and 1,2‐dichloroethane (C2H4Cl2), are a stratospheric chlorine source and therefore contribute to ozone depletion. We quantify stratospheric chlorine trends from these VSLS (VSLCltot) using a chemical transport model and atmospheric measurements, including novel high‐altitude aircraft data from the NASA VIRGAS (2015) and POSIDON (2016) missions. We estimate VSLCltot increased from 69 (±14) parts per trillion (ppt) Cl in 2000 to 111 (±22) ppt Cl in 2017, with >80% delivered to the stratosphere through source gas injection, and the remainder from product gases. The modeled evolution of chlorine source gas injection agrees well with historical aircraft data, which corroborate reported surface CH2Cl2 increases since the mid‐2000s. The relative contribution of VSLS to total stratospheric chlorine increased from ~2% in 2000 to ~3.4% in 2017, reflecting both VSLS growth and decreases in long‐lived halocarbons. We derive a mean VSLCltot growth rate of 3.8 (±0.3) ppt Cl/year between 2004 and 2017, though year‐to‐year growth rates are variable and were small or negative in the period 2015–2017. Whether this is a transient effect, or longer‐term stabilization, requires monitoring. In the upper stratosphere, the modeled rate of HCl decline (2004–2017) is −5.2% per decade with VSLS included, in good agreement to ACE satellite data (−4.8% per decade), and 15% slower than a model simulation without VSLS. Thus, VSLS have offset a portion of stratospheric chlorine reductions since the mid‐2000s.
Original Publication Citation
Hossaini, R., Atlas, E., Dhomse, S. S., Chipperfield, M. P., Bernath, P. F., Fernando, A. M., . . . Lunder, C. R. (2019). Recent trends in stratospheric chlorine from very short‐lived substances. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124(4), 2318-2335. doi:10.1029/2018JD029400
ORCID
0000-0002-1255-396X (Bernath)
Repository Citation
Hossaini, Ryan; Atlas, Elliot; Dhomse, Sandip S.; Chipperfield, Martyn P.; Bernath, Peter F.; Fernando, Anton M.; Mühle, Jens; Leeson, Amber A.; Montzka, Stephen A.; and Feng, Wuhu, "Recent Trends in Stratospheric Chlorine From Very Short‐Lived Substances" (2019). Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications. 167.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/chemistry_fac_pubs/167
Included in
Atmospheric Sciences Commons, Environmental Chemistry Commons, Physical Chemistry Commons
Comments
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.