On the effects of the ocean on atmospheric CFC-11 lifetimes and emissions
Peidong Wang, Jeffery R. Scott, Susan Solomon, John Marshall, Andrew R. Babbin, Megan Lickley, David W. J. Thompson, Tim DeVries, Qing Liang, Ronald G. Prinn
Abstract
Significance Manufactured CFC-11 is depleting the Antarctic ozone layer. CFC production has been strictly controlled by the Montreal Protocol, but emission estimates are very sensitive to choices of lifetimes, which are often assumed as constant over time. We employ a hierarchy of models to study the effect of the ocean on the time-dependent uptake and release of atmospheric CFC-11. The ocean is a sink for CFC-11 and significantly affects its total lifetime and hence the emission inferred from concentration data of past decades. This has not been explicitly included in international ozone assessments. We show that, as anthropogenic production ceases, ocean fluxes become more important, suggesting a need for further studies with high-resolution global models linking atmospheric chemistry and ocean processes.