Articles | Volume 26, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-4583-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-4583-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
08 Apr 2026
Research article |
| 08 Apr 2026
| 08 Apr 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)
Elinor C. Tuffnell
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
Institute of Energy and Climate Research: Stratosphere, Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, 52428, Germany
Emma Leedham-Elvidge
Faculty of Science, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
William T. Sturges
Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
Harald Bönisch
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
Karina E. Adcock
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
Paul J. Fraser
CSIRO Environment, Aspendale, Victoria, Australia
Paul B. Krummel
CSIRO Environment, Aspendale, Victoria, Australia
David E. Oram
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK
National Centre for Atmospheric Science, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
Ray L. Langenfelds
CSIRO Environment, Aspendale, Victoria, Australia
Thomas Röckmann
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht (IMAU), Utrecht University (UU), Utrecht, the Netherlands
Luke M. Western
Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Jens Mühle
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
Institute of Energy and Climate Research: Stratosphere, Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, 52428, Germany
Data sets
Supplementary data for: 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) Elinor Tuffnell et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16736497
Short summary
The greater the stratospheric lifetime of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the longer they will deplete ozone. This paper investigates four longer-lived CFCs, and discovers two of them have much shorter lifetimes than previously believed. Demonstrating emissions of these compounds are higher than assumed, to account for their abundance. Unusually this paper uses stratospheric whole-air samples, rather than models or lab-based experiments, to derive policy-relevant metrics for these compounds.
The greater the stratospheric lifetime of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the longer they will...
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