Evolution of a dozen non-CO 2 greenhouse gases above central Europe since the mid-1980s

• Published in: Environmental sciences 2005-09, Vol.2 (2-3), p.295-303
• Main Authors: Zander, R., Mahieu, E., Demoulin, P., Duchatelet, P., Servais, C., Roland, G., DelBouille, L., De Mazière, M., Rinsland, C. P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1569-3430; 1744-4225
• DOI: 10.1080/15693430500397152

High-resolution infrared solar observations have been conducted consistently since the mid-1980s at the International Scientific Station of the Jungfraujoch, Switzerland, by the GIRPAS-ULg team (Groupe Infra-Rouge de Physique Atmospherique et Solaire-University of Liege), and by colleagues from the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy and from the Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels. These observations were performed with state-of-the-art Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers, revealing specific absorption features of over 20 atmospheric gases in the middle-infrared. Related spectrometric analyses have allowed the derivation of their burdens, seasonal and inter-annual variability, as well as their long-term evolution. In addition to updates of long-term changes for CCI 2 F 2, CHCIF 2, CH 4, N 2 O, SF 6, CO, C 2 H 6 and C 2 H 2 already dealt with at previous Non-CO 2 Greenhouse Gases (NCGG) symposia, this paper further reports temporal evolutions observed during the past two decades for a series of other source gases, namely OCS, HCN, CCI 3 F and CCI 4, which also have direct or indirect effects on the radiation balance of the troposphere and on the stratospheric ozone layer.