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Growing Atmospheric Emissions of Sulfuryl Fluoride
Author(s) -
Gressent A.,
Rigby M.,
Ganesan A. L.,
Prinn R. G.,
Manning A. J.,
Mühle J.,
Salameh P. K.,
Krummel P. B.,
Fraser P. J.,
Steele L. P.,
Mitrevski B.,
Weiss R. F.,
Harth C. M.,
Wang R. H.,
O'Doherty S.,
Young D.,
Park S.,
Li S.,
Yao B.,
Reimann S.,
Vollmer M. K.,
Maione M.,
Arduini J.,
Lunder C. R.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1029/2020jd034327
Subject(s) - fumigation , environmental science , greenhouse gas , fluoride , atmosphere (unit) , atmospheric sciences , postharvest , environmental chemistry , global warming , climatology , chemistry , meteorology , climate change , horticulture , geography , geology , inorganic chemistry , biology , oceanography
The potent greenhouse gas sulfuryl fluoride (SO 2 F 2 ) is increasingly used as a fumigant, replacing methyl bromide, whose structural and soil fumigation uses have been phased out under the Montreal Protocol. We use measurements on archived air samples and in situ observations from the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) and a box model of the global atmosphere to show a global increase of SO 2 F 2 mole fraction from 0.3 ± 0.02 to 2.5 ± 0.08 ppt along with a global increase in emissions from 0.5 ± 0.4 Gg yr −1 to 2.9 ± 0.4 Gg yr −1 from 1978 to 2019. Based on a hybrid model incorporating bottom‐up industry data and a top‐down downscaling approach, we estimate the spatial distribution and trend in SO 2 F 2 regional emissions between 2000 and 2019 and propose that the global emissions increase is driven by the growing use of SO 2 F 2 in structural fumigation in North America and in postharvest treatment of grains and other agricultural products worldwide.