Global increase of SF6 observed in the atmosphere

High precision long-term observations of the trace gas sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) in background air at Neumayer station, Antarctica (1986-1991), and at Izana observatory, Tenerife (1991-1992), are presented. Since the very first measurements in 1970 (0.03pptv), the purely anthropogenic greenhouse ga...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Maiß, Manfred (Other) , Levin, Ingeborg (Other)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: Heidelberg Universitätsbibliothek der Universität Heidelberg 1994
DOI:10.11588/heidok.00006867
Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-opus-68673
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.11588/heidok.00006867
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/6867/
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Author Notes:Manfred Maiss; Ingeborg Levin
Description
Summary:High precision long-term observations of the trace gas sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) in background air at Neumayer station, Antarctica (1986-1991), and at Izana observatory, Tenerife (1991-1992), are presented. Since the very first measurements in 1970 (0.03pptv), the purely anthropogenic greenhouse gas SF6 has increased by two orders of magnitude to a global mean value of 2.8pptv in 1992. The observations can best be fitted by a quadratic curve with a recent increase rate of 8.3%/yr. A significant north-south gradient of 0.29pptv is observed. From this gradient an interhemispheric exchange time of 1.4 years is derived. A modeled atmospheric budget history agrees reasonably well with estimates of global SF6 production rates and leads to an extrapolated SF6 concentration of about 20pptv for the year 2030.
Item Description:Wissenschaftl. Aufsatz. - Aus: Geophysical Research Letters
Physical Description:Online Resource
DOI:10.11588/heidok.00006867