Source gases: Concentrations, emissions, and trends

Source gases are defined as those gases that influence levels of stratospheric ozone (O3) by transporting species containing halogen, hydrogen, and nitrogen to the stratosphere. Examples are the CFC's, methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Other source gases that also come under consideration in an atmospheric O3 context are those that are involved in the O3 or hydroxyl (OH) radical chemistry of the troposphere. Examples are CH4, carbon monoxide (CO), and nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC's). Most of the source gases, along with carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O), are climatically significant and thus affect stratospheric O3 levels by their influence on stratospheric temperatures. Carbonyl sulphide (COS) could affect stratospheric O3 through maintenance of the stratospheric sulphate aerosol layer, which may be involved in heterogeneous chlorine-catalyzed O3 destruction. The previous reviews of trends and emissions of source gases, either from the context of their influence on atmospheric O3 or global climate change, are updated. The current global abundances and concentration trends of the trace gases are given in tabular format.