Temporary pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane in 2015–2018
Atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) play an important role in the formation of secondary organic aerosols and ozone. After a multidecadal global decline in atmospheric mole fractions of ethane and propane – the most abundant atmospheric NMHCs – previous work has shown a reversal of this tre...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f877504ad0844d7ab0e09ae3ea1e80c4 2023-05-15T16:30:08+02:00 Temporary pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane in 2015–2018 H. Angot C. Davel C. Wiedinmyer G. Pétron J. Chopra J. Hueber B. Blanchard I. Bourgeois I. Vimont S. A. Montzka B. R. Miller J. W. Elkins D. Helmig 2021-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15153-2021 https://doaj.org/article/f877504ad0844d7ab0e09ae3ea1e80c4 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/21/15153/2021/acp-21-15153-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7316 https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7324 doi:10.5194/acp-21-15153-2021 1680-7316 1680-7324 https://doaj.org/article/f877504ad0844d7ab0e09ae3ea1e80c4 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol 21, Pp 15153-15170 (2021) Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15153-2021 2022-12-31T06:58:22Z Atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) play an important role in the formation of secondary organic aerosols and ozone. After a multidecadal global decline in atmospheric mole fractions of ethane and propane – the most abundant atmospheric NMHCs – previous work has shown a reversal of this trend with increasing atmospheric abundances from 2009 to 2015 in the Northern Hemisphere. These concentration increases were attributed to the unprecedented growth in oil and natural gas (O&NG) production in North America. Here, we supplement this trend analysis building on the long-term (2008–2010; 2012–2020) high-resolution ( ∼3 h) record of ambient air C 2 –C 7 NMHCs from in situ measurements at the Greenland Environmental Observatory at Summit station (GEOSummit, 72.58 ∘ N, 38.48 ∘ W; 3210 m above sea level). We confirm previous findings that the ethane mole fraction significantly increased by + 69.0 [ + 47.4, + 73.2; 95 % confidence interval] ppt yr −1 from January 2010 to December 2014. Subsequent measurements, however, reveal a significant decrease by −58.4 [ −64.1 , −48.9 ] ppt yr −1 from January 2015 to December 2018. A similar reversal is found for propane. The upturn observed after 2019 suggests, however, that the pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane might only have been temporary. Discrete samples collected at other northern hemispheric baseline sites under the umbrella of the NOAA cooperative global air sampling network show a similar decrease in 2015–2018 and suggest a hemispheric pattern. Here, we further discuss the potential contribution of biomass burning and O&NG emissions (the main sources of ethane and propane) and conclude that O&NG activities likely played a role in these recent changes. This study highlights the crucial need for better constrained emission inventories. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Greenland Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 21 19 15153 15170 |
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Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 |
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Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 H. Angot C. Davel C. Wiedinmyer G. Pétron J. Chopra J. Hueber B. Blanchard I. Bourgeois I. Vimont S. A. Montzka B. R. Miller J. W. Elkins D. Helmig Temporary pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane in 2015–2018 |
topic_facet |
Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 |
description |
Atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) play an important role in the formation of secondary organic aerosols and ozone. After a multidecadal global decline in atmospheric mole fractions of ethane and propane – the most abundant atmospheric NMHCs – previous work has shown a reversal of this trend with increasing atmospheric abundances from 2009 to 2015 in the Northern Hemisphere. These concentration increases were attributed to the unprecedented growth in oil and natural gas (O&NG) production in North America. Here, we supplement this trend analysis building on the long-term (2008–2010; 2012–2020) high-resolution ( ∼3 h) record of ambient air C 2 –C 7 NMHCs from in situ measurements at the Greenland Environmental Observatory at Summit station (GEOSummit, 72.58 ∘ N, 38.48 ∘ W; 3210 m above sea level). We confirm previous findings that the ethane mole fraction significantly increased by + 69.0 [ + 47.4, + 73.2; 95 % confidence interval] ppt yr −1 from January 2010 to December 2014. Subsequent measurements, however, reveal a significant decrease by −58.4 [ −64.1 , −48.9 ] ppt yr −1 from January 2015 to December 2018. A similar reversal is found for propane. The upturn observed after 2019 suggests, however, that the pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane might only have been temporary. Discrete samples collected at other northern hemispheric baseline sites under the umbrella of the NOAA cooperative global air sampling network show a similar decrease in 2015–2018 and suggest a hemispheric pattern. Here, we further discuss the potential contribution of biomass burning and O&NG emissions (the main sources of ethane and propane) and conclude that O&NG activities likely played a role in these recent changes. This study highlights the crucial need for better constrained emission inventories. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
H. Angot C. Davel C. Wiedinmyer G. Pétron J. Chopra J. Hueber B. Blanchard I. Bourgeois I. Vimont S. A. Montzka B. R. Miller J. W. Elkins D. Helmig |
author_facet |
H. Angot C. Davel C. Wiedinmyer G. Pétron J. Chopra J. Hueber B. Blanchard I. Bourgeois I. Vimont S. A. Montzka B. R. Miller J. W. Elkins D. Helmig |
author_sort |
H. Angot |
title |
Temporary pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane in 2015–2018 |
title_short |
Temporary pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane in 2015–2018 |
title_full |
Temporary pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane in 2015–2018 |
title_fullStr |
Temporary pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane in 2015–2018 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Temporary pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane in 2015–2018 |
title_sort |
temporary pause in the growth of atmospheric ethane and propane in 2015–2018 |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15153-2021 https://doaj.org/article/f877504ad0844d7ab0e09ae3ea1e80c4 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland |
genre_facet |
Greenland |
op_source |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol 21, Pp 15153-15170 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/21/15153/2021/acp-21-15153-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7316 https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7324 doi:10.5194/acp-21-15153-2021 1680-7316 1680-7324 https://doaj.org/article/f877504ad0844d7ab0e09ae3ea1e80c4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15153-2021 |
container_title |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
container_volume |
21 |
container_issue |
19 |
container_start_page |
15153 |
op_container_end_page |
15170 |
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1766019840832700416 |