Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions
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10.5194/acpd-9-6515-2009
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/6515/2009/
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/6515/2009/acpd-9-6515-2009.html
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/6515/2009/acpd-9-6515-2009.pdf
6515
6539
2009-03-10
Recent trends in atmospheric methyl bromide: analysis of post-Montreal Protocol variability
S. A. Yvon-Lewis
syvon-lewis@ocean.tamu.edu
E. S. Saltzman
Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
Department of Earth System Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
The atmospheric methyl bromide (CH3Br) burden has
declined in recent years, in response to the phaseout of agricultural and
structural fumigation consumption under the amendments to the Montreal
Protocol. The timing and magnitude of this decrease represents an
opportunity to examine our current understanding of the CH<sub>3</sub>Br budget,
the phaseout schedule, and recent estimates of interannual variability in
biomass burning and global OH. In this study, simulations obtained from a
time-dependent global model of atmospheric CH<sub>3</sub>Br emissions and uptake
are compared to observations from the NOAA flask network. The model includes
an updated global methyl bromide source inventory that includes biofuel
combustion emissions estimated at 6.1±3 Gg yr<sup>−1</sup> globally. The
phaseout of CH<sub>3</sub>Br production for agricultural uses began in 1998,
concurrent with the pulse in biomass burning associated with the 1998 El
Niño. The combined effects of three factors (biomass burning, global OH,
and anthropogenic phaseout) appear to explain most of the observed
atmospheric methyl bromide trend over the 1997–2005 period. The global
budget remains imbalanced, with a large missing source. These results
suggest that more than 80% of the missing source does not exhibit
significant interannual variability during the phaseout period and,
therefore, does not result from underestimating agricultural CH<sub>3</sub>Br
emissions.
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