Sulfuryl fluoride in the global atmosphere
Author(s)
Muhle, Jens; Huang, J.; Weiss, R. F.; Miller, Benjamin R.; Salameh, P. K.; Harth, C. M.; Fraser, P. J.; Porter, L. W.; Greally, B. R.; O'Doherty, Simon; Simmonds, P. G.; Prinn, Ronald G; ... Show more Show less
DownloadSulfuryl Fluoride paper (1.076Mb)
PUBLISHER_POLICY
Publisher Policy
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Terms of use
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The first calibrated high-frequency, high-precision, in situ atmospheric and archived air measurements of the fumigant sulfuryl fluoride (SO[subscript 2]F[subscript 2]) have been made as part of the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gas Experiment (AGAGE) program. The global tropospheric background concentration of SO[subscript 2]F[subscript 2] has increased by 5 ± 1% per year from ∼0.3 ppt (parts per trillion, dry air mol fraction) in 1978 to ∼1.35 ppt in May 2007 in the Southern Hemisphere, and from ∼1.08 ppt in 1999 to ∼1.53 ppt in May 2007 in the Northern Hemisphere. The SO[subscript 2]F[subscript 2] interhemispheric concentration ratio was 1.13 ± 0.02 from 1999 to 2007. Two-dimensional 12-box model inversions yield global total and global oceanic uptake atmospheric lifetimes of 36 ± 11 and 40 ± 13 years, respectively, with hydrolysis in the ocean being the dominant sink, in good agreement with 35 ± 14 years from a simple oceanic uptake calculation using transfer velocity and solubility. Modeled SO[subscript 2]F[subscript 2] emissions rose from ∼0.6 Gg/a in 1978 to ∼1.9 Gg/a in 2007, but estimated industrial production exceeds these modeled emissions by an average of ∼50%. This discrepancy cannot be explained with a hypothetical land sink in the model, suggesting that only ∼2/3 of the manufactured SO[subscript 2]F[subscript 2] is actually emitted into the atmosphere and that ∼1/3 may be destroyed during fumigation. With mean SO[subscript 2]F[subscript 2] tropospheric mixing ratios of ∼1.4 ppt, its radiative forcing is small and it is probably an insignificant sulfur source to the stratosphere. However, with a high global warming potential similar to CFC-11, and likely increases in its future use, continued atmospheric monitoring of SO[subscript 2]F[subscript 2] is warranted.
Date issued
2009-03Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary SciencesJournal
Journal of Geophysical Research
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Mühle, J. et al. “Sulfuryl Fluoride in the Global Atmosphere.” J. Geophys. Res. 114.D5 (2009) : D05306. ©2009 American Geophysical Union
Version: Final published version
ISSN
0148–0227