MORE ozone-depleting gases have been identified in the atmosphere by scientists.
Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have found two new types of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and one new hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC).
The latest discovery came after UEA researchers identified four new man-made gases which contribute to destruction of the ozone layer in March, bringing the total of newly discovered CFCs and HCFCs to seven.
The scientists discovered the gases by comparing today's air samples with air collected between 1978 and 2012 in unpolluted Tasmania. The research has been published in the journal Atmosphere. The new gases are at much lower concentrations than those found earlier this year, and are unlikely to pose a threat to the ozone layer, the scientists said. But the researchers speculated there were many more gases in the atmosphere, which could have a cumulative impact.
Dr Johannes Laube, from UEA's School of Environmental Sciences, said: "Two of the gases we found earlier in the year were particularly worrying because they were still accumulating significantly up until 2012.
"Emission increases of this scale have not been seen for any other CFCs since controls were introduced during the 1990s, but they are nowhere near peak CFC emissions of the 1980s."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article