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High frequency measurements of HFCs at a remote site in east Asia and their implications for Chinese emissions
Author(s) -
Yokouchi Y.,
Taguchi S.,
Saito T.,
Tohjima Y.,
Tanimoto H.,
Mukai H.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2006gl026403
Subject(s) - tonne , east asia , environmental science , china , atmospheric sciences , atmosphere (unit) , climatology , seasonality , meteorology , geography , geology , archaeology , statistics , mathematics
High frequency monitoring of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and some other halocarbons in the atmosphere has been performed at Hateruma Island (lat. 24.1°N, long. 123.8°E), a background site in east Asia. The observed concentrations showed occasional short‐term enhancement events over hours to days as well as a clear seasonal variation, being lower in summer than in other seasons. We found that HFC‐23 enhancements were closely related to the air transport from China. Using a tagged simulation from three‐dimensional transport model and a tracer‐ratio technique, the emission rate of HFC‐23 from China was estimated to amount to 10 Gg (= 10 000 metric tonnes) per year with an uncertainty of 50%, which could account for two thirds of the total global emission. HFCs emitted from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan were characterized by a predominance of HFC‐134a with very little contribution of HFC‐23.