The longest atmospheric records, radiative forcings and emissions for perfluorocarbons

• Main Authors: Mani, Francis S., Sturges, W.T., Laube, J.C., Schwander, J., Weiler, K., Martinerie, P.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: QD Chemistry; Antarctic; Dronning Maud Land; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://repository.usp.ac.fj/7041/; http://repository.usp.ac.fj/7041/1/Mani_B9.pdf

Atmospheric Perfluorocarbons (CF4, C2F6, C3F8, c-C4F8, C4F10 and C5F12) are trace gases with very high Global Warming Potentials. The atmospheric histories of these species were reconstructed from measurements in firn air from EPICA Dronning Maud Land (EDML), Antarctic site. The EDML firn is one of the sites in Antarctica with the oldest air archive that has been sampled to date hence constraining the historical atmospheric record for these species over the last century. This study not only reveals the updated atmospheric trends for these gases from early 20th century to 2006 but also for the first time highlights the long term atmospheric trend for c-C4F8, C4F10 and C5F12. The firn measurements show that the CF4 mixing ratio rose from a pre-industrial value of 37.1