Abstract
Sulfur hexafluoride ($SF_6$), man-made compound, has been paid attention as a potent greenhouse gas. After Kyoto Pototcol on Climate Change in 1997, nations established the policy aimed at minimizing release of $SF_6$ to atmosphere. We have developed and operated an automatic analytical system for monitoring atmospheric $SF_6$ using gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD) and packed separate-column. Here, we report and discuss 4-month record of atmospheric $SF_6$ concentrations monitored at Seoul National University (SNU) pilot station near the Kwanak Mountain, Seoul. Most of observed $SF_6$ concentrations were excessively high compared with Northern Hemisphere (NH) background trend obtained from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) monitoring stations. And the observed $SF_6$ showed extremely wide variability ranging from 4.6 pptv to $1.1{\times}10^3$ pptv, which may be affected by local sources placed nearby. Simultaneous wind data with $SF_6$ measurements show that relatively high values of $SF_6$ correspond to weak wind as well as southerly. There are many engineering installations to the south of the station. The regional value of the atmospheric $SF_6$ estimated from the data selection by wind conditions is about 6.8 pptv. This value, which is similar to concentrations of urban areas, is higher than NH background concentration.