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The isotopic composition of molecular hydrogen (H2) contains independent information for constraining the global H2 budget. To explore this, we have implemented hydrogen sources and sinks, including their stable isotopic composition and isotope fractionation constants, into the global chemistry transport model TM5. For the first time, a global model now includes a simplified but explicit isotope reaction scheme for the photochemical production of H2. We present a comparison of modelled results for the H2 mixing ratio and isotope composition with available measurements on seasonal to inter annual time scales for the years 2001–2007. The base model results agree well with observations for H2 mixing ratios. For δD[H2], modelled values are slightly lower than measurements. A detailed sensitivity study is performed to identify the most important parameters for modelling the isotopic composition of H2. The results show that on the global scale, the discrepancy between model and measurements can be closed by adjusting the default values of the isotope effects in deposition, photochemistry and the stratosphere-troposphere exchange within the known range of uncertainty. However, the available isotope data do not provide sufficient information to uniquely constrain the global isotope budget. Therefore, additional studies focussing on the isotopic composition near the tropopause and on the isotope effects in the photochemistry and deposition are recommended.

We present a comparison of chemistry-transport models (TransCom-N2O) to examine the importance of atmospheric transport and surface fluxes on the variability of N2O mixing ratios in the troposphere. Six different models and two model variants participated in the inter-comparison and simulations were made for the period 2006 to 2009. In addition to N2O, simulations of CFC-12 and SF6 were made by a subset of four of the models to provide information on the models' proficiency in stratosphere–troposphere exchange (STE) and meridional transport, respectively. The same prior emissions were used by all models to restrict differences among models to transport and chemistry alone. Four different N2O flux scenarios totalling between 14 and 17 TgN yr−1 (for 2005) globally were also compared. The modelled N2O mixing ratios were assessed against observations from in situ stations, discrete air sampling networks and aircraft. All models adequately captured the large-scale patterns of N2O and the vertical gradient from the troposphere to the stratosphere and most models also adequately captured the N2O tropospheric growth rate. However, all models underestimated the inter-hemispheric N2O gradient by at least 0.33 parts per billion (ppb), equivalent to 1.5 TgN, which, even after accounting for an overestimate of emissions in the Southern Ocean of circa 1.0 TgN, points to a likely underestimate of the Northern Hemisphere source by up to 0.5 TgN and/or an overestimate of STE in the Northern Hemisphere. Comparison with aircraft data reveal that the models overestimate the amplitude of the N2O seasonal cycle at Hawaii (21° N, 158° W) below circa 6000 m, suggesting an overestimate of the importance of stratosphere to troposphere transport in the lower troposphere at this latitude. In the Northern Hemisphere, most of the models that provided CFC-12 simulations captured the phase of the CFC-12, seasonal cycle, indicating a reasonable representation of the timing of STE. However, for N2O all models simulated a too early minimum by 2 to 3 months owing to errors in the seasonal cycle in the prior soil emissions, which was not adequately represented by the terrestrial biosphere model. In the Southern Hemisphere, most models failed to capture the N2O and CFC-12 seasonality at Cape Grim, Tasmania, and all failed at the South Pole, whereas for SF6, all models could capture the seasonality at all sites, suggesting that there are large errors in modelled vertical transport in high southern latitudes.

High-frequency, in situ observations from the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE), for the period 2003 to 2012, combined with archive flask measurements dating back to 1977, have been used to capture the rapid growth of HFC-143a (CH3CF3) and HFC-32 (CH2F2) mole fractions and emissions into the atmosphere. Here we report the first in situ global measurements of these two gases. HFC-143a and HFC-32 are the third and sixth most abundant hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) respectively and they currently make an appreciable contribution to the HFCs in terms of atmospheric radiative forcing (1.7 ± 0.04 and 0.7 ± 0.02 mW m−2 in 2012 respectively). In 2012 the global average mole fraction of HFC-143a was 13.4 ± 0.3 ppt (1σ) in the lower troposphere and its growth rate was 1.4 ± 0.04 ppt yr−1; HFC-32 had a global mean mole fraction of 6.2 ± 0.2 ppt and a growth rate of 1.1 ± 0.04 ppt yr−1 in 2012. The extensive observations presented in this work have been combined with an atmospheric transport model to simulate global atmospheric abundances and derive global emission estimates. It is estimated that 23 ± 3 Gg yr−1 of HFC-143a and 21 ± 11 Gg yr−1 of HFC-32 were emitted globally in 2012, and the emission rates are estimated to be increasing by 7 ± 5% yr−1 for HFC-143a and 14 ± 11% yr−1 for HFC-32.

This work reassesses the global atmospheric budget of H2 with the TM5 model. The recent adjustment of the calibration scale for H2 translates into a change in the tropospheric burden. Furthermore, the ECMWF Reanalysis-Interim (ERA-Interim) data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) used in this study show slower vertical transport than the operational data used before. Consequently, more H2 is removed by deposition. The deposition parametrization is updated because significant deposition fluxes for snow, water, and vegetation surfaces were calculated in our previous study. Timescales of 1-2h are asserted for the transport of H2 through the canopies of densely vegetated regions. The global scale variability of H2 and [DH2] is well represented by the updated model. H2 is slightly overestimated in the Southern Hemisphere because too little H2 is removed by dry deposition to rainforests and savannahs. The variability in H2 over Europe is further investigated using a high-resolution model subdomain. It is shown that discrepancies between the model and the observations are mainly caused by the finite model resolution. The tropospheric burden is estimated at 165 +/- 8TgH2. The removal rates of H2 by deposition and photochemical oxidation are estimated at 53 +/- 4 and 23 +/- 2TgH2/yr, resulting in a tropospheric lifetime of 2.2 +/- 0.2year.

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The Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellite (MAPS) instrument measures carbon monoxide (CO) in the middle troposphere from a space platform. In anticipation of the deployment of MAPS aboard the space shuttle Endeavor for two 10-day missions in 1994, plans were made to prepare a set of correlative measurements which would be used as part of the mission validation program. Eleven laboratories participated in the correlative measurement program by providing NASA with the results of their CO field programs during April and October 1994. Measurements of CO in the boundary layer, while not used in the MAPS validation, provide a picture of CO in the lower troposphere. Because measurements of CO made by different laboratories have been known to differ significantly, all correlative team members participated in an intercomparison of their measurements to define potential differences in techniques and calibration scales. While good agreement was found between some laboratories, there were di fferences between others. The use of similar analytical techniques and calibration scales did not always provide similar results. The results of the intercomparisons were used to normalize all ground-based measurements to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory CO reference scale. These data provide an internally consistent picture of CO in the lower atmosphere during spring and fall 1994.

We present the first reconstruction of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) high latitude atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) mole fraction from Greenland firn air. Firn air samples were collected at three deep ice core sites in Greenland (NGRIP in 2001, Summit in 2006 and NEEM in 2008). CO records from the three sites agree well with each other as well as with recent atmospheric measurements, indicating that CO is well preserved in the firn at these sites. CO atmospheric history was reconstructed back to the year 1950 from the measurements using a combination of two forward models of gas transport in firn and an inverse model. The reconstructed history suggests that Arctic CO in 1950 was 140–150 nmol mol−1, which is higher than today's values. CO mole fractions rose by 10–15 nmol mol−1 from 1950 to the 1970s and peaked in the 1970s or early 1980s, followed by a ≈ 30 nmol mol−1 decline to today's levels. We compare the CO history with the atmospheric histories of methane, light hydrocarbons, molecular hydrogen, CO stable isotopes and hydroxyl radicals (OH), as well as with published CO emission inventories and results of a historical run from a chemistry-transport model. We find that the reconstructed Greenland CO history cannot be reconciled with available emission inventories unless unrealistically large changes in OH are assumed. We argue that the available CO emission inventories strongly underestimate historical NH emissions, and fail to capture the emission decline starting in the late 1970s, which was most likely due to reduced emissions from road transportation in North America and Europe., Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 13 (15), ISSN:1680-7375, ISSN:1680-7367

HCFC-22 (CHClF2, chlorodifluoromethane) is an ozone-depleting substance (ODS) as well as a significant greenhouse gas (GHG). HCFC-22 has been used widely as a refrigerant fluid in cooling and air-conditioning equipment since the 1960s, and it has also served as a traditional substitute for some chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) controlled under the Montreal Protocol. A low frequency record on tropospheric HCFC-22 since the late 1970s is available from measurements of the Southern Hemisphere Cape Grim Air Archive (CGAA) and a few Northern Hemisphere air samples (mostly from Trinidad Head) using the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) instrumentation and calibrations. Since the 1990s high-frequency, high-precision, in situ HCFC-22 measurements have been collected at these AGAGE stations. Since 1992, the Global Monitoring Division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Earth System Research Laboratory (NOAA/ESRL) has also collected flasks on a weekly basis from remote sites across the globe and analyzed them for a suite of halocarbons including HCFC-22. Additionally, since 2006 flasks have been collected approximately daily at a number of tower sites across the US and analyzed for halocarbons and other gases at NOAA. All results show an increase in the atmospheric mole fractions of HCFC-22, and recent data show a growth rate of approximately 4% per year, resulting in an increase in the background atmospheric mole fraction by a factor of 1.7 from 1995 to 2009. Using data on HCFC-22 consumption submitted to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as well as existing bottom-up emission estimates, we first create globally-gridded a priori HCFC-22 emissions over the 15 yr since 1995. We then use the three-dimensional chemical transport model, Model for Ozone and Related Chemical Tracers version 4 (MOZART v4), and a Bayesian inverse method to estimate global as well as regional annual emissions. Our inversion indicates that the global HCFC-22 emissions have an increasing trend between 1995 and 2009. We further find a surge in HCFC-22 emissions between 2005 and 2009 from developing countries in Asia – the largest emitting region including China and India. Globally, substantial emissions continue despite production and consumption being phased out in developed countries currently., Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 12 (21), ISSN:1680-7375, ISSN:1680-7367