Nov. 15, 2013
(past)
12:10 p.m.
to 1 p.m.
MP 134
Felicia Kolonjari
speaker details
Felicia Kolonjari
The
implementation of the Montreal Protocol and its subsequent amendments
is one of the greatest environmental success stories of our time.
Following the discovery of the ozone hole over the Antarctic in the
1980s, the production and emission of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were
banned. To fulfill the need for safe, stable refrigerant-propellants,
hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) were
developed to replace CFCs. Although the ozone depletion potential of
HCFCs is less than that of CFCs, these families of species are
greenhouse gases and their long lifetimes in the atmosphere make them
important contributors to climate change.
The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) is a mission on-board the Canadian satellite SCISAT. The primary instrument on SCISAT is a high-resolution infrared Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS). With its large spectral range, the ACE-FTS is capable of measuring a wide range of gases including key CFC and HCFC species. The focus of this talk will be CFC-11, CFC-12, and HCFC-22. To understand the atmospheric distribution of these species, we use a combined measurement/model approach using satellite observations and model simulations. In particular, we use zonal mean comparisons, probability density functions, and joint probability density functions to explore the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere.