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ToolsTuffnell, Elinor C., Leedham-Elvidge, Emma, Sturges, William T., Bönisch, Harald, Adcock, Karina E., Fraser, Paul J., Krummel, Paul B., Oram, David E., Langenfelds, Ray L., Röckmann, Thomas, Western, Luke M., Mühle, Jens and Laube, Johannes C. (2026) Observationally-derived Fractional Release Factors, Ozone Depletion Potentials, and Stratospheric Lifetimes of Four Long-Lived CFCs: CFC-13 (CClF3), CFC-114 (C2Cl2F4), CFC-114a (CF3CCl2F), and CFC-115 (C2ClF5). Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 26 (7). pp. 4583-4599. ISSN 1680-7316
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
The longer an Ozone Depleting Substance (ODS) remains in the stratosphere, the longer it will be available for the process of ozone depletion. We present improved policy-relevant parameters: Fractional Release Factors (FRFs), Ozone Depletion Potentials (ODPs), and stratospheric lifetimes, for four understudied long-lived chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): CFC-13 (CClF3), CFC-114 (CClF2CCClF2), CFC-114a (CCl2FCF3), and CFC-115 (C2ClF5). Previous estimates for the stratospheric lifetimes of these compounds were derived using model and laboratory-based kinetic studies. This study instead uses stratospheric observational data, and correlations between FRFs and lifetimes, to semi-empirically and independently determine the steady-state stratospheric lifetimes of these compounds. Our newly derived stratospheric lifetime estimates are 366 (290–439) years for CFC-13 (264 years shorter than previous estimates), 208 (171–250) years for CFC-114 (similar to previous estimates), 84 (74–95) years for CFC-114a (23 years shorter), and 404 (321–489) years for CFC-115 (260 years shorter). For CFC-13 and CFC-115 this is outside the uncertainty ranges of previously published estimates. This suggests that these two compounds may have had greater emissions than previously thought, in order to account for their abundance. We calculated FRFs and ODPs for the four CFCs of interest: CFC-13 (FRF = 0.07, ODP = 0.44), CFC-114 (FRF = 0.12, ODP = 0.52), CFC-114a (FRF = 0.31, ODP = 0.54), and CFC-115 (FRF = 0.06, ODP = 0.28). Providing new and updated lifetimes, FRFs and ODPs for these compounds, will help improve future estimates of their tropospheric emissions and their potential to damage the stratospheric ozone layer.
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| Additional Information: | Acknowledgements. AGAGE is supported principally by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (USA) grants to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (Prinn et al., 2025). The Kennaook/Cape Grim station is funded and managed by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, with the scientific program jointly managed with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Support is also received from the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (RRA), the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC), and through the NASA Upper Atmospheric Research Program award to MIT (80NSSC21K1369)withasub-award to CSIRO for Kennaook/Cape Grim AGAGE activities. The teamwork of the M-55 Geophysica pilots and crew, the campaign coordination team, and the other campaign participants and contributors is very gratefully acknowledged. Data availability. Data for this paper includes: The Cape Grim Observatory background trend (date and mixing ratio), as measured at UEA, for CFC-13, CFC-114, CFC-114a, and CFC115. The mean ages, mixing ratios, and respective uncertainties for the four compounds studied, for all five Geophysica flights. The updated emissions estimates from Western et al. (2023) for all four compounds. This supplementary data can be found at: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16736497 (Tuffnell, 2025). |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | atmospheric science,sdg 12 - responsible consumption and production ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1902 |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences Faculty of Science University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 18 May 2026 15:59 |
| Last Modified: | 18 May 2026 15:59 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/103078 |
| DOI: | 10.5194/acp-26-4583-2026 |
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