Atmospheric Sulfur Hexafluoride near the Kwanak Mountain, Seoul

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.

서울 관악산 대기 중의 에 관한 연구