Click name for Infrared Spectra	Click molecule to rotate	Concentration Units* Click image for graphs	Global Warming Potential, 100-year**	Atmospheric lifetime, years**
Carbon dioxide CO2		ppm long term	1	300-1000***
Methane CH4		ppb long term	27.9	11.8
Nitrous oxide N2O		ppb long term	273	109
Hydrogen H2		ppb		1-2
Carbon monoxide CO		ppb	1.9	0.25
Trichlorofluoromethane CCl3F CFC-11		ppt	6,230	52
Dichlorodifluoromethane CCl2F2 CFC-12		ppt	12,500	102
1,1,2-Trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane CCl2FCClF2 CFC-113		ppt	6,520	93
Carbon tetrachloride CCl4		ppt	2,200	32
Chloroform CHCl3		ppt	20.6	0.501
Dichloromethane CH2Cl2		ppt	11.2	0.493
Difluoromethane CH2F2 HFC-32 50% of R-410A		ppt	771	5.4
Methyl chloride CH3Cl		ppt	5.54	0.9
Tetrachloroethene Cl2C=CCl2 Perchloroethylene		ppt	6.34	0.301
Methyl chloroform CH3CCl3		ppt	161	5
Chlorodifluoromethane CHClF2 HCFC-22		ppt	1,960	11.9
1-Chloro-1,1-difluoroethane CH3CClF2 HCFC-142b		ppt	2.300	18
1,1-Dichloro-1-fluoroethane CH3CFCl2 HCFC-141b		ppt	860	9.4
1,1-Difluoroethane CH3CHF2 HFC-152a		ppt	164	1.6
1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane CH2FCF3 HFC-134a		ppt	1,530	14
1,1,1-Trifluoroethane CH3CF3 HFC-143a		ppt	5,810	51
Pentafluoroethane CHF2CF3 HFC-125 50% of R-410A		ppt	3,740	30
2,3,3,3-Tetrafluoropropene CF3CF=CH2 HFO-1234yf		<1 ppt (decomposes to CF3COOH)	0.501	0.033
Propane CH3CH2CH3		ppt	0.02	0.036
1,1,1,2,3,3,3- Heptafluoropropane CF3CFHCF3 HFC-227ea		ppt	3,600	36
Perfluoropropane CF3CF2CF3 PFC-218		ppt	9,290	2600
Perfluorocyclobutane C4F8 PFC-318		ppt	10,200	3200
1,1,1,3,3-Pentafluorobutane CF3CH2CF2CH3 HFC-365mfc		ppt	914	8.9
Fluoroform CHF3 HFC-23		ppt	14,600	228
Perfluoroethane CF3CF3 PFC-116		ppt	12,400	10,000
Bromochlorodifluoromethane CBrClF2 Halon-1211		ppt	1,930	16
Methylbromide CH3Br		ppt	2.43	0.8
1,2-Dibromotetrafluoroethane CBrF2CBrF2 Halon-2402		ppt	2,170	28
Bromotrifluoromethane CBrF3 Halon-1301		ppt	7,200	72
Sulfur hexafluoride SF6		ppt	24,300	1,000
Trifluoromethyl sulfur pentafluoride CF3SF5		ppt	18,500	800
Nitrogen trifluoride NF3		ppt	17,400	569
Carbon tetrafluoride CF4 PFC-14		ppt	7,380	50,000

Infrared spectral links are to the NIST Chemistry WebBook (%T, peaks down) or the Gasmet IR Spectrum Collection (A, peaks up).

Information about Sampling Sites.

*Concentration data from the Scripps CO₂ Program, the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (NASA and the MIT Center for Global Change Science), Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network and Long-term global trends of atmospheric trace gases (Global Monitoring Laboratory, U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Cape Grim Australia Greenhouse Gas Data (CSIRO), and the World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases (Japan Meteorological Agency and the World Meteorological Organization).

**The Global Warming Potential (GWP) is used to contrast different greenhouse gases and provides a simple measure of the radiative effects of various greenhouse gases relative to CO₂ defined as 1. Atmospheric lifetime is used to characterize the decay of an instanenous pulse input to the atmosphere, and represents the time the input would take to decay to 0.368 (1/e) of its original value. One hundred year time horizon GWPs and atmospheric lifetimes taken from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis, Table 7.SM.6, p. 16-27.

***IPCC no longer lists a value for the carbon dioxide lifetime. It depends on the biosphere and concentration-dependent equilibria between the atmosphere, the ocean, and deposition of CaCO₃ on timescales of a few centuries. See Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 37:117-34 (2009) and The Atmosphere: Getting a Handle on Carbon Dioxide (NASA 2019).

Earlier versions of these pages were supported by the National Science Foundation grants DUE-9455918 and DUE-9455924.
This page created by George Lisensky, Beloit College. Last modified August 12, 2024.