Stratospheric BrO abundance measured by a balloon-borne submillimeterwave radiometer

Stachnik, R. A.; Millán, Luis; Jarnot, R. F.; Monroe, Ryan; McLinden, Chris A.; Kühl, S.; Puķīte, Jānis; Shiotani, Masato; Kasai, Yasuko; Goutail, Florence; Pommereau, Jean‐Pierre; Dorf, M.; Pfeilsticker, Klaus

doi:10.5194/acp-13-3307-2013

Cited by 26 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…In WMO 2014, the best estimate for SGI VSLS is 0.7 to 3.4 ppt based on observations of brominated VSLS at the tropical tropopause, and the best estimate for PGI is 1.1 to 4.3 ppt based on modeling studies (Table 1-9 of Carpenter et al, 2014). In addition to observed SGI VSLS and modeled PGI, estimates of Br y VSLS in WMO 2014 have been based on analysis of BrO profiles in the middle to upper stratosphere obtained by either ground-based (e.g., Schofield et al, 2004;Theys et al, 2007), balloon-borne (e.g., Dorf et al, 2008;Stachnik et al, 2013), or satellite instruments (e.g., Dorf et al, 2006;Kovalenko et al, 2007;McLinden et al, 2010;Parrella et al, 2013;Sioris et al, 2006). The mean value of the best estimate for Br y VSLS from these studies is 6 ppt, with a range of 3 to 8 ppt (Carpenter et al, 2014).…”

Section: Stratospheric Bromine From Vsls (Br Y Vsls )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Stratospheric Injection of Brominated Very Short‐Lived Substances: Aircraft Observations in the Western Pacific and Representation in Global Models

et al. 2018

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We quantify the stratospheric injection of brominated very short‐lived substances (VSLS) based on aircraft observations acquired in winter 2014 above the Tropical Western Pacific during the CONvective TRansport of Active Species in the Tropics (CONTRAST) and the Airborne Tropical TRopopause EXperiment (ATTREX) campaigns. The overall contribution of VSLS to stratospheric bromine was determined to be 5.0 ± 2.1 ppt, in agreement with the 5 ± 3 ppt estimate provided in the 2014 World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Ozone Assessment report (WMO 2014), but with lower uncertainty. Measurements of organic bromine compounds, including VSLS, were analyzed using CFC‐11 as a reference stratospheric tracer. From this analysis, 2.9 ± 0.6 ppt of bromine enters the stratosphere via organic source gas injection of VSLS. This value is two times the mean bromine content of VSLS measured at the tropical tropopause, for regions outside of the Tropical Western Pacific, summarized in WMO 2014. A photochemical box model, constrained to CONTRAST observations, was used to estimate inorganic bromine from measurements of BrO collected by two instruments. The analysis indicates that 2.1 ± 2.1 ppt of bromine enters the stratosphere via inorganic product gas injection. We also examine the representation of brominated VSLS within 14 global models that participated in the Chemistry‐Climate Model Initiative. The representation of stratospheric bromine in these models generally lies within the range of our empirical estimate. Models that include explicit representations of VSLS compare better with bromine observations in the lower stratosphere than models that utilize longer‐lived chemicals as a surrogate for VSLS.

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Section: Stratospheric Bromine From Vsls (Br Y Vsls )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Stratospheric Injection of Brominated Very Short‐Lived Substances: Aircraft Observations in the Western Pacific and Representation in Global Models

et al. 2018

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“…Being short lived, there are large uncertainties in using atmospheric concentration measurements to estimate their global fluxes and their net contribution to the stratospheric bromine (Warwick et al, 2006;Liang et al, 2010;Pyle et al, 2011;Ordóñez et al, 2012;Ziska et al, 2013;Hossaini et al, 2013). A large range of contributions to stratospheric inorganic bromine of 110 ppt can be found in the literature (Dorf et al, 2008;Salawich et al, 2010;Schofield et al, 2011;Aschmann et al, 2011;Tegtmeier et al, 2012;Stachnik et al, 2013;Hossaini et al, 2012a). The UNEP/WMO ozone assessment of 2011 reports the value as 6(3-8) ppt (Montzka, Reimann et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

How sensitive is the recovery of stratospheric ozone to changes in concentrations of very short-lived bromocarbons?

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Naturally produced very short-lived substances (VSLS) account for almost a quarter of the current stratospheric inorganic bromine, Br y . Following VSLS oxidation, bromine radicals (Br and BrO) can catalytically destroy ozone. The extent to which possible increases in surface emissions or transport of these VSLS bromocarbons to the stratosphere could counteract the effect of halogen reductions under the Montreal Protocol is an important policy question. Here, by using a chemistry-climate model, UM-UKCA, we investigate the impact of a hypothetical doubling (an increase of 5 ppt Br y ) of VSLS bromocarbons on ozone and how the resulting ozone changes depend on the background concentrations of chlorine and bromine. Our model experiments indicate that for the 5 ppt increase in Br y from VSLS, the ozone decrease in the lowermost stratosphere of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) may reach up to 10 % in the annual mean; the ozone decrease in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) is smaller (4-6 %). The largest impact on the ozone column is found in the Antarctic spring. There is a significantly larger ozone decrease following the doubling of the VSLS burden under a high stratospheric chlorine background than under a low chlorine background, indicating the importance of the inter-halogen reactions. For example, the decline in the high-latitude, lower-stratospheric ozone concentration as a function of Br y is higher by about 30-40 % when stratospheric Cl y is ∼ 3 ppb (present day), compared with Cl y of ∼ 0.8 ppb (a pre-industrial or projected future situation). Bromine will play an important role in the future ozone layer. However, even if bromine levels from natural VSLS were to increase significantly later this century, changes in the concentration of ozone will likely be dominated by the decrease in anthropogenic chlorine. Our calculation suggests that for a 5 ppt increase in Br y from VSLS, the Antarctic ozone hole recovery date could be delayed by approximately 6-8 years, depending on Cl y levels.

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“…CHBr 3 and CH 2 Br 2 are the dominant contributors to bromine VSLS species. Although their tropospheric lifetime is relatively short (a few weeks for CHBr 3 and several months for CH 2 Br 2 ), they can be lifted effectively through deep convective systems and transported into the upper troposphere and/or lower stratosphere (UTLS) to make a significant contribution to the total ambient bromine (Sturges et al, 2000;Yang et al, 2005;Salawitch, 2006). Being short lived, there are large uncertainties in using atmospheric concentration measurements to estimate their global fluxes and their net contribution to the stratospheric bromine (Warwick et al, 2006;Liang et al, 2010;Pyle et al, 2011;Ordóñez et al, 2012;Ziska et al, 2013;Hossaini et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How sensitive is the recovery of stratospheric ozone to changes in concentrations of very short lived bromocarbons?

Yang¹,

Abraham²,

Archibald³

et al. 2014

Preprint

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Abstract. Naturally produced very short-lived substances (VSLS), like bromocarbons, account for almost a quarter of the current stratospheric inorganic bromine, Bry. Following VSLS oxidation, bromine radicals (Br and BrO) can catalytically destroy ozone. The extent to which possible increases in surface emissions or transport of these VSLS bromocarbons to the stratosphere could counteract the effect of halogen reductions under the Montreal Protocol is an important policy question. Here by using a chemistry–climate model, UM-UKCA, we investigate the impact of a hypothetical increase in VSLS on ozone and how that impact depends on the background concentrations of chlorine and bromine. Our model experiments indicate that for a ~5 ppt increase in Bry from VSLS, the local ozone loss in the lowermost stratosphere of the Southern Hemisphere (SH) may reach up to 10% in the annual mean; the ozone loss in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) is smaller (4–6%). There is more ozone loss following an increase in VSLS burden under a high stratospheric chlorine background than under a low chlorine background indicating the importance of the inter-halogen reactions. For example, the rate of decline of the stratospheric ozone concentration as a function of Bry is higher by about 30–40% when stratospheric Cly is ~3 ppb (present day) compared with Cly of ~0.8 ppb (apre-industrial or projected future situation). Although bromine plays an important role in destroying ozone, inorganic chlorine is the dominant halogen compound. Even if bromine levels from natural VSLS were to increase significantly later this century, changes in the concentration of ozone will be dominated by the recovery of anthropogenic chlorine. Our calculation suggests that for a 5 ppt increase in Bry from VSLS, the Antarctic ozone hole recover date could be delayed by approximately 7 years.

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Stratospheric BrO abundance measured by a balloon-borne submillimeterwave radiometer

Cited by 26 publications

References 47 publications

Stratospheric Injection of Brominated Very Short‐Lived Substances: Aircraft Observations in the Western Pacific and Representation in Global Models

Stratospheric Injection of Brominated Very Short‐Lived Substances: Aircraft Observations in the Western Pacific and Representation in Global Models

How sensitive is the recovery of stratospheric ozone to changes in concentrations of very short-lived bromocarbons?

How sensitive is the recovery of stratospheric ozone to changes in concentrations of very short lived bromocarbons?

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