Evolution of a dozen non-CO2 greenhouse gases above central Europe since the mid-1980s

Abstract

High-resolution infrared solar observations have been conducted consistently since the mid-1980s at the International Scientific Station of the Jungfraujoch, Switzerland, by the GIRPAS-ULg team (Groupe Infra-Rouge de Physique Atmosphérique et Solaire-University of Liège), and by colleagues from the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy and from the Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels. These observations were performed with state-of-the-art Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers, revealing specific absorption features of over 20 atmospheric gases in the middle-infrared. Related spectrometric analyses have allowed the derivation of their burdens, seasonal and inter-annual variability, as well as their long-term evolution. In addition to updates of long-term changes for CCl2F2, CHClF2, CH4, N2O, SF6, CO, C2H6 and C2H2 already dealt with at previous Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases (NCGG) symposia, this paper further reports temporal evolutions observed during the past two decades for a series of other source gases, namely OCS, HCN, CCl3F and CCl4, which also have direct or indirect effects on the radiation balance of the troposphere and on the stratospheric ozone layer.