Trends in Atmospheric HFC-23 (CHF3) and HFC-134a Abundances
College
College of Sciences
Program
Ph.D. Physics
Publication Date
3-28-2019
Abstract
The Montreal Protocol banned the production of major ozone depleting substances such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to protect the Earth’s ozone layer. The emission of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) has increased to replace the CFCs. As a result, the atmospheric abundance of HFCs are rapidly increasing. Although these HFCs do not contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer because they contain no chlorine, they are powerful greenhouse gases with large global warming potentials. In January 2019, the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol came into force to phase out long-lived HFCs. The two most abundant HFCs in the atmosphere, HFC-134a (CF3CH2F) and HFC-23 (CHF3) are measured from orbit by the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS). These measurements are useful for monitoring the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The ACE measurements provide the first global distributions and confirm the rapid increase in HFC-134a (4.6±0.2 ppt per year) and CHF3 (0.78±0.05 ppt per year) abundances.
Files
Recommended Citation
Fernando, Anton; Bernath, Peter; and Boone, Christopher, "Trends in Atmospheric HFC-23 (CHF3) and HFC-134a Abundances" (2019). College of Sciences Posters. 11.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/sciences_achievement/11