Geographers working with the University of Bristol’s Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group have developed world leading-atmospheric measurement and modelling capabilities for greenhouse gases (GHG) and ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
Issue
Compliance with national and international policy on climate and the protection of the stratospheric ozone layer requires accurate regional and global atmospheric measurement networks and robust computational and statistical analysis methods.
Approach
Bristol has pioneered the development of a GHG and ODS emissions evaluation system for the UK - the Deriving Emissions related to Climate Change (DECC) network, which can make measurements of all of the key gases regulated under the Kyoto and Montreal Protocols.
The team also lead two of the five 'core' stations in the international Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) using state-of-the-art measurement techniques for observing hourly changes in GHG and ODS concentrations, and developing modelling methods capable of estimating GHG and ODS emissions from regional to global scales.
Impact
The modelling, along with global atmospheric data, identified an increase of around 10,000 tonnes per year in the global emissions of one of the primary substances responsible for ozone depletion, CFC-11, and determined that 40-60% of these global emission increases had originated in eastern China. Montreal Protocol delegates from China outlined law enforcement activities that had been initiated after publication of this funding and Chinese CFC-11 emissions dropped during 2018 or 2019.
The DECC network has been highlighted as an exemplar and has led to significant revisions of the UK GHG inventory, which demonstrates the UK’s commitment to international 'best practice'. This has inspired other countries to adopt similar methodologies.
More information
Institution: University of Bristol
Researchers: Professor Matt Rigby, Professor Simon O'Doherty