Abstract
Abstract. SF6 total columns were successfully retrieved from FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) measurements (Saint Denis and Maïdo) on Reunion Island (21∘ S, 55∘ E) between 2004 and 2016 using the SFIT4 algorithm: the retrieval strategy and the error budget were presented. The FTIR SF6 retrieval has independent information in only one individual layer, covering the whole of the troposphere and the lower stratosphere. The trend in SF6 was analysed based on the FTIR-retrieved dry-air column-averaged mole fractions (XSF6) on Reunion Island, the in situ measurements at America Samoa (SMO) and the collocated satellite measurements (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding, MIPAS, and Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier Transform Spectrometer, ACE-FTS) in the southern tropics. The SF6 annual growth rate from FTIR retrievals is 0.265±0.013 pptv year−1 for 2004–2016, which is slightly weaker than that from the SMO in situ measurements (0.285±0.002 pptv year−1) for the same time period. The SF6 trend in the troposphere from MIPAS and ACE-FTS observations is also close to the ones from the FTIR retrievals and the SMO in situ measurements.
Highlights
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is very stable in the atmosphere and is well-mixed and one of the most potent greenhouse gases listed in the 1997 Kyoto protocol linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The objective of this paper is to investigate the SF6 retrievals in the southern tropics based on the spectra observed by two FTIR spectrometers on Reunion Island (21◦ S, 55◦ E) from 2004 to 2016
The SF6 total columns were retrieved with the SFIT4 algorithm from two FTIRs on Reunion Island (21◦ S, 55◦ E) in 2004–2016
Summary
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is very stable in the atmosphere and is well-mixed and one of the most potent greenhouse gases listed in the 1997 Kyoto protocol linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It has an extremely long lifetime of 850 years (Ray et al, 2017) with global warming potential for a 100-year time horizon of 23 700 (relative to CO2) (Kovács et al, 2017).
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