Observations of radiatively active halogenated species at MonteCImone WMO-GAW station and their use in inverse modelling techniques to derive emission estimates at the regional scale.

Long term measurement activities carried out at the WMO GAW global station of Monte Cimone (CMN) provide a useful insight into the characterization of the composition of the Southern European atmosphere. Since 2003, ozone depleting substances (ODSs) and halogenated Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) have been measured at CMN in the frame of the AGAGE (Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment) programme, with the aim of tracking progress towards the implementation of the international treaties on stratospheric ozone depletion and climate, and getting a better understanding of emissions both in terms of magnitude and localisation at the regional (EU) scale. CMN is often influenced by the advection of polluted air masses from the Po basin, one of the most polluted areas in Europe, as well as by the transport from other highly anthropised regions in Central EU. However, during the cold months and at night-time in the warm season, the site is representative of the free troposphere.

By providing high quality, high frequency, continuous -almost uninterrupted- observations of ODSs (chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons) and their radiatively active substitutes (hydrofluorocarbons) to modellers, the monitoring activities at CMN  are crucial for improving the overall sensitivity of the inverse modelling techniques used to derive emissions through the so called “top-down” approach. Such approach represents an important quasi-independent cross-check of national GHG emission inventories submitted annually by the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Here we will present results of the Bayesian inverse modelling technique used to derive emissions at the EU national scale based on the observations described above.