Climate crisis: Oceans may emit more ozone-depleting gases

Recent research has found that oceans would emit more CFC-11 by 2075 than they absorb, and emit detectable amounts of the chemical by 2130.

Context

Recent research has found that oceans would emit more CFC-11 by 2075 than they absorb, and emit detectable amounts of the chemical by 2130.

What are the findings?

• Solubility: CFCs are more soluble when sea surface temperatures are low.
• Release of CFC: Oceans may start releasing chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), a class of ozone-depleting chemicals, at a faster rate due to rising global temperatures.
  • Changes in oceanic levels of this gas have been shown to affect changes in its atmospheric concentrations.
  • The oceans, which are a vast repository for gases, would emit more CFC-11 by 2075 than they absorb.
  • They would emit detectable amounts of the chemical by 2130.
  • The shift will occur 10 years earlier due to climate change.
  • The emissions of CFC-11 from the ocean will effectively extend the chemical’s average residence time, causing it to linger five years longer in the atmosphere than it otherwise would.
  • By 2145, the ocean would emit CFC-11 in amounts that would be detectable by current monitoring standards.
  • If the planet warms by five degrees Celsius by 2100, the ocean will become a net emitter of CFC-11 by 2065 and release detectable levels by 2140.