New greenhouse gas identified—Early detection may permit 'nipping it in the bud'

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/prinn-greenhouse-tt0311.html

New greenhouse gas identified

Early detection may permit 'nipping it in the bud'

David Chandler, MIT News Office
March 11, 2009

A gas used for fumigation has the potential to contribute significantly to future greenhouse warming, but because its production has not yet reached high levels there is still time to nip this potential contributor in the bud, according to an international team of researchers.

Scientists at MIT, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and other institutions are reporting the results of their study of the gas, sulfuryl fluoride, this month in the Journal of Geophysical Research. The researchers have measured the levels of the gas in the atmosphere, and determined its emissions and lifetime to help gauge its potential future effects on climate.

Sulfuryl fluoride was introduced as a replacement for methyl bromide, a widely used fumigant that is being phased out under the Montreal Protocol because of its ozone-destroying chemistry. Methyl bromide has been widely used for insect control in grain-storage facilities, and in intensive agriculture in arid lands where drip irrigation is combined with covering of the land with plastic sheets to control evaporation.

"Such fumigants are very important for controlling pests in the agricultural and building sectors," says Ron Prinn, director of MIT's Center for Global Change Science and a co-author on the new paper. But with methyl bromide being phased out, "industry had to find alternatives, so sulfuryl fluoride has evolved to fill the role," he says.

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[Taverner]

1. Uh oh - someone tie up Tom Delay

He'll be freaking out after this

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Sulfuryl fluoride = SO2F2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfuryl_fluoride

Environmental fate
Based on the first high frequency, high precision, in situ atmospheric and archived air measurements of sulfuryl fluoride it was determined that sulfuryl fluoride has an atmospheric lifetime of 30-40 years <7>, much longer than the 5 years earlier estimated <8>. Moreover, sulfuryl fluoride has been reported to be a greenhouse gas which is about 4000-5000 times more efficient in trapping infrared radiation (per kg) than carbon dioxide (per kg).<9> <10> <7> It is important to note, however, that amounts of sulfuryl fluoride released into the atmosphere (about 2 Gg/yr in 2007 <7>) are far, far lower than the amounts of CO2 released by hydrocarbon-burning vehicles, industry, and other processes. The most important loss process of sulfuryl fluoride is dissolution of atmospheric sulfuryl fluoride in the ocean followed by hydrolysis <7><11>.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. The good news is that your teeth won't get termites

(Insert George Washington joke here.)