Discovery of a mysterious source of substance depleting the already banned ozone layer



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The darker colors on the map represent the areas with the highest carbon tetrachloride emissions. This reveals a concentration of the already banned substance in eastern China. ( Lunt, Park et al. )

The mysterious source behind the continuing emissions of a substance that depletes the ozone layer is already banned is finally discovered. Instead of decreasing after the ban, it has even been found that emissions have increased in some areas.

Emissions that deplete the ozone layer

It was in 2010 that carbon tetrachloride production was banned worldwide because of its destructive properties of the ozone layer, which protects us from harmful ultraviolet rays. However, recent studies have revealed that despite the ban, about 40,000 tonnes of this substance are still released into the atmosphere each year.

The source of the programs is a mystery to scientists, researchers at the University of Bristol, as well as researchers from the United States, South Korea, Switzerland and Australia have collaborated to quantify emissions East Asia using atmospheric airborne data and airborne data from 2010 to 2016.

Mysterious Source Revealed

What researchers have discovered is that there is still significant emissions from eastern China, which is a significant sum of the missing global estimates. In addition, emissions of carbon tetrachloride from East Asia have even been considerably larger than expected.

In addition, they have also found no evidence of emission reductions in the region since 2010. In fact, data show even a slight increase in emissions from the region since 2010, as well as a new source of emissions. Emissions from Shandong Province in China after 2012..

Gaps in knowledge

The co-author, Dr. Matt Rigby, notes that while their research answers an important question, there are still gaps in the knowledge to be filled, such as the exact industries that are responsible. In addition, it is still unclear whether the emissions were intentionally or inadvertently produced, perhaps as a by-product of the production of other chemicals such as chlorine.

"Studies like this show the importance of ongoing monitoring of ozone-depleting gases. The temptation is to consider the depletion of the ozone layer as a problem solved. However, the monitoring of synthetic gases that deplete the ozone layer in the atmosphere is essential to ensure the continued success of the elimination of these compounds, "said Dr. Mark Lunt, lead author, from the University of Bristol.

The study is published in Letters of geophysical research.

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