Articles | Volume 26, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-4583-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-4583-2026
Research article
 | 
08 Apr 2026
Research article |  | 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, Emma Leedham-Elvidge, William T. Sturges, Harald Bönisch, Karina E. Adcock, Paul J. Fraser, Paul B. Krummel, David E. Oram, Ray L. Langenfelds, Thomas Röckmann, Luke M. Western, Jens Mühle, and Johannes C. Laube

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Cited articles

Adcock, K. E., Reeves, C. E., Gooch, L. J., Leedham Elvidge, E. C., Ashfold, M. J., Brenninkmeijer, C. A. M., Chou, C., Fraser, P. J., Langenfelds, R. L., Mohd Hanif, N., O'Doherty, S., Oram, D. E., Ou-Yang, C.-F., Phang, S. M., Samah, A. A., Röckmann, T., Sturges, W. T., and Laube, J. C.: Continued increase of CFC-113a (CCl3CF3) mixing ratios in the global atmosphere: emissions, occurrence and potential sources, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4737–4751, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4737-2018, 2018. 
Adcock, K. E., Ashfold, M. J., Chou, C. C.-K., Gooch, L. J., Mohd Hanif, N., Laube, J. C., Oram, D. E., Ou-Yang, C.-F., Panagi, M., Sturges, W. T., and Reeves, C. E.: Investigation of East Asian Emissions of CFC-11 Using Atmospheric Observations in Taiwan, Environ. Sci. Technol., 54, 3814–3822, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b06433, 2020. 
Adcock, K. E., Fraser, P. J., Hall, B. D., Langenfelds, R. L., Lee, G., Montzka, S. A., Oram, D. E., Röckmann, T., Stroh, F., Sturges, W. T., Vogel, B., and Laube, J. C.: Aircraft-Based Observations of Ozone-Depleting Substances in the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere in and Above the Asian Summer Monsoon, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 126, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033137, 2021. 
Allin, S. J., Laube, J. C., Witrant, E., Kaiser, J., McKenna, E., Dennis, P., Mulvaney, R., Capron, E., Martinerie, P., Röckmann, T., Blunier, T., Schwander, J., Fraser, P. J., Langenfelds, R. L., and Sturges, W. T.: Chlorine isotope composition in chlorofluorocarbons CFC-11, CFC-12 and CFC-113 in firn, stratospheric and tropospheric air, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6867–6877, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6867-2015, 2015. 
Barreto, H. and Howland, F.: “Introductory Econometrics: Using Monte Carlo Simulation with Microsoft Excel” Add-In, Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511809231, ISBN 9780511809231, 2010. 
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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.
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