Fig. 1: The relationship between additional molecular chlorine emissions, global CH4 burden (black line; left axis), and the CH4 e-folding chemical lifetime (brown line; right axis–reversed). | Nature Communications

Fig. 1: The relationship between additional molecular chlorine emissions, global CH4 burden (black line; left axis), and the CH4 e-folding chemical lifetime (brown line; right axis–reversed).

From: Global environmental implications of atmospheric methane removal through chlorine-mediated chemistry-climate interactions

Fig. 1: The relationship between additional molecular chlorine emissions, global CH4 burden (black line; left axis), and the CH4 e-folding chemical lifetime (brown line; right axis–reversed).The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

The CH4 burden is shown for the year 2030, while the 10-year average (2020–2030) is shown for CH4 lifetime. The CH4 lifetime is defined as the chemical lifetime of CH4 (obtained via dividing the atmospheric CH4 burden by the CH4 chemical loss rate). The colormap shows the scenarios (detailed setup listed in Table S1). Inset plot–results from RCP8.5, S10, S40, S60, S80, S90, and S100 scenarios highlighting the nonlinear response of global CH4 (burden and lifetime) to additional molecular chlorine flux. As molecular chlorine emissions are increased from an additional 10 Tg Cl/year (S10) up to an additional 80 Tg Cl/year (S80), there is a slight increase in the global CH4 burden. Only by increasing emissions above 90 Tg Cl/year (S90) does the global CH4 burden and its lifetime decrease.

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