Halogenated greenhouse gases at the Swiss High Alpine site of Jungfraujoch (3580 m asl): Continuous measurements and their use for regional European source allocation

[1] At the high Alpine site of Jungfraujoch (3580 m asl), 23 halogenated greenhouse gases are measured quasi-continuously by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS). Measurement data from the years 2000–2002 are analyzed for trends and pollution events. Concentrations of the halogenated trace gases, which are already controlled in industrialized countries by the Montreal Protocol (e.g., CFCs) were at least stable or declining. Positive trends in the background concentrations were observed for substances which are used as CFC-substitutes (hydrofluorocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons). Background concentrations of the hydrofluorocarbons at the Jungfraujoch increased from January 2000 until December 2002 as follows: HFC 134a (CF3CH2F) from 15 to 27 ppt, HFC 125 (CF3CHF2) from 1.4 to 2.8 ppt, and HFC 152a (CHF2CH3) from 2.3 to 3.2 ppt. For HFC 152a, a distinct increase of its concentration magnitude during pollution events was observed from 2000 to 2002, indicating rising European emissions for this compound. Background concentrations of all measured compounds were in good agreement with similar measurements at Mace Head, Ireland. On the other hand, peak concentrations were significantly higher at the Jungfraujoch. This finding is due to the proximity to potent European sources, foremost in southern Europe. The average ratio of halocarbons versus carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations above their baseline values was used to estimate source strengths for the part of Europe which most influences the Jungfraujoch during pollution events. HFCs emission estimates from Jungfraujoch tend to be higher than figures at Mace Head (Ireland) from the end of the 1990s, which either reflects the increased use of these compounds or the closer location of Jungfraujoch to major southern European sources. Transport of polluted European boundary layer air masses to the high Alpine site was observed especially during frontal passages, foehn events, and thermal lifting of air masses in summer. The measurement data during the periods when the Jungfraujoch was under the influence of the polluted boundary layer were used in combination with concurrent air mass trajectories to allocate above baseline halocarbon concentrations to specific European source regions.

[1]  A. Manning,et al.  Estimating European emissions of ozone-depleting and greenhouse gases using observations and a modeling back-attribution technique , 2003 .

[2]  P. Midgley,et al.  Releases of refrigerant gases (CFC-12, HCFC-22 and HFC-134a) to the atmosphere , 2003 .

[3]  V. L. Orkin,et al.  Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 2010 , 2003 .

[4]  U. Baltensperger,et al.  Partitioning of reactive nitrogen (NO y ) and dependence on meteorological conditions in the lower free troposphere , 2002 .

[5]  T J Wallington,et al.  R-134a emissions from vehicles. , 2002, Environmental science & technology.

[6]  P. Duchatelet,et al.  Potential of the NDSC in support of the Kyoto Protocol: Examples from the station Jungfraujoch, Switzerland , 2002 .

[7]  J. Houghton,et al.  Climate change 2001 : the scientific basis , 2001 .

[8]  T. Wallington,et al.  Updated radiative forcing estimates of 65 halocarbons and nonmethane hydrocarbons , 2001 .

[9]  P. Hopke,et al.  Identification of sources of pollutants in precipitation measured at the mid-Atlantic US coast using potential source contribution function (PSCF) , 2001 .

[10]  A. Manning,et al.  Estimating source regions of European emissions of trace gases from observations at Mace Head , 2001 .

[11]  A. Thorpe,et al.  Mechanisms for pollutant transport between the boundary layer and the free troposphere , 2001 .

[12]  P. Monks,et al.  In situ ozone production under free tropospheric conditions during FREETEX '98 in the Swiss Alps , 2000 .

[13]  E. Mahieu,et al.  Free tropospheric CO, C2H6, and HCN above central Europe: Recent measurements from the Jungfraujoch station including the detection of elevated columns during 1998 , 2000 .

[14]  M. Furger,et al.  Influences of vertical transport and scavenging on aerosol particle surface area and radon decay product concentrations at the Jungfraujoch (3454 m above sea level) , 2000 .

[15]  R. Weiss,et al.  A history of chemically and radiatively important gases in air deduced from ALE/GAGE/AGAGE , 2000 .

[16]  B. Buchmann,et al.  Variability of trace gases at the high-Alpine site Jungfraujoch caused by meteorological transport processes , 2000 .

[17]  U. Baltensperger,et al.  Summertime NO y speciation at the Jungfraujoch, 3580 m above sea level, Switzerland , 2000 .

[18]  Ian Colbeck,et al.  Convective boundary layer evolution to 4 km asl over High‐alpine terrain: Airborne lidar observations in the Alps , 2000, Geophysical Research Letters.

[19]  A. Prévôt,et al.  Influence of road traffic on volatile organic compound concentrations in and above a deep Alpine valley , 2000 .

[20]  S. Montzka,et al.  Present and future trends in the atmospheric burden of ozone-depleting halogens , 1999, Nature.

[21]  P. Midgley,et al.  Properties and Applications of Industrial Halocarbons , 1999 .

[22]  Petra Seibert,et al.  Transport of polluted boundary layer air from the Po Valley to high-alpine sites , 1998 .

[23]  D. M. Cunnold,et al.  Calculated trends and the atmospheric abundance of 1,1,1,2‐tetrafluoroethane, 1,1‐dichloro‐1‐fluoroethane, and 1‐chloro‐1,1‐difluoroethane using automated in‐situ gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry measurements recorded at Mace Head, Ireland, from October 1994 to March 1997 , 1998 .

[24]  G. Vaughan,et al.  Chemical air mass differences near fronts , 1998 .

[25]  H. Wanner,et al.  Aerosol transport to the high Alpine sites Jungfraujoch (3454 m asl) and Colle Gnifetti (4452 m asl) , 1998 .

[26]  E. Mahieu,et al.  Observed Trends in Total Vertical Column Abundances of Atmospheric Gases from IR Solar Spectra Recorded at the Jungfraujoch , 1997 .

[27]  P. Seibert,et al.  Aerosol climatology at the high‐alpine site Jungfraujoch, Switzerland , 1997 .

[28]  Andreas Stohl,et al.  Trajectory statistics-A new method to establish source-receptor relationships of air pollutants and its application to the transport of particulate sulfate in Europe , 1996 .

[29]  William R. Cotton,et al.  Cloud venting — A review and some new global annual estimates , 1995 .

[30]  The use of bootstrapping to estimate conditional probability fields for source locations of airborne pollutants , 1995 .

[31]  Barbara Fay,et al.  Evaluation of Eulerian and Lagrangian atmospheric transport models at the Deutscher Wetterdienst using anatex surface tracer data , 1995 .

[32]  R. Smith,et al.  Automated Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer for Routine Atmospheric Field Measurements of the CFC Replacement Compounds, the Hydrofluorocarbons and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons , 1995 .

[33]  A. Stohl,et al.  Origin of ozone in Vienna and surroundings, Austria , 1994 .

[34]  Meng-Dawn Cheng,et al.  A receptor-oriented methodology for determining source regions of particulate sulfate observed at Dorset, Ontario , 1993 .

[35]  R. Stull.  An Introduction to Boundary Layer Meteorology , 1988 .

[36]  K. Browning.  Conceptual Models of Precipitation Systems , 1986 .

[37]  L. Ashbaugh.  A statistical trajectory technique for determining air pollution source regions , 1983 .

[38]  A. Piaget.  Mountain Weather and Climate , 1982 .