Publication Date:
2019-04-29
Description:
Chloroform (CHCl3), dichloromethane (CH2Cl2), perchloroethylene (C2Cl4), and 1,2-dichloroethane (C2H4Cl2) are chlorinated Very Short-Lived Substances (Cl-VSLS) with a range of commercial/industrial applications. Recent studies highlight the increasing influence of Cl-VSLS on the stratospheric chlorine budget and therefore their possible role in ozone depletion. Here we evaluate the ozone depletion potential (ODP) of these Cl-VSLS using a three-dimensional chemical transport model and investigate sensitivity to emission location/season. The seasonal dependence of the ODPs is small, but ODPs vary by a factor of 2–3 depending on the continent of emission: 0.0143–0.0264 (CHCl3), 0.0097–0.0208 (CH2Cl2), 0.0057–0.0198 (C2Cl4), and 0.0029–0.0119 (C2H4Cl2). Asian emissions produce the largest ODPs owing to proximity to the tropics and efficient troposphere-to-stratosphere transport of air originating from industrialized East Asia. The Cl-VSLS ODPs are generally small, but the upper ends of the CHCl3 and CH2Cl2 ranges are comparable to the mean ODP of methyl chloride (0.02), a longer-lived ozone-depleting substance. © 2019. The Authors.
Print ISSN:
0094-8276
Electronic ISSN:
1944-8007
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
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