Recent Decreases in the Growth Rate of Atmospheric HCFC‐22 Column Derived From the Ground‐Based FTIR Harmonized Retrievals at 16 NDACC Sites

Abstract

HCFC‐22 is an ozone‐depleting substance with a greenhouse effect. The atmospheric mole fractions of HCFC‐22 have been increasing since the 1950s. Within the NDACC‐IRWG network, HCFC‐22 mol fractions can be retrieved from solar absorption spectra measured by ground‐based FTIR. However, only a few sites have provided HCFC‐22 data sets. Here, we demonstrate a harmonized FTIR HCFC‐22 retrieval strategy and generate a new global NDACC‐IRWG HCFC‐22 data set at 16 FTIR sites. The systematic and random uncertainties are 5.3%–8.7% and 3.2%–8.0%, respectively. A maximum HCFC‐22 column annual growth rate was observed in 2009 with a mean of 7.65 ± 1.39 ppt/year, and the HCFC‐22 annual growth rate decreased to 3.57 ± 1.39 ppt/year (2016–2020) and 2.15 ± 2.09 ppt/year (2021–2023). The annual growth rates derived from the FTIR measurements are compared to the ones derived from NOAA surface flask samplings and ACE‐FTS satellite measurements, and the three independent data sets show a good agreement.