Abstract. Methane, ethane and propane are among the most abundant hydrocarbons in the atmosphere. These compounds have many emission sources in common and are all primarily removed through OH oxidation. Their mixing ratios and long-term trends in the upper troposphere and stratosphere are rarely reported due to the paucity of measurements. In this study, we present long-term (2006–2016) global ethane, propane, and methane data from airborne observation in the Upper Troposphere - Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) region, combined with atmospheric model simulations for ethane at the same times and locations, to focus on global ethane trends. The model uses the Copernicus emission inventory CAMS-GLOB and distinguishes 12 ethane emission sectors (natural and anthropogenic): BIO (biogenic emission), BIB (biomass burning), AWB (agricultural waste burning), ENE (power generation), FEF (fugitives), IND (industrial processes), RES (residential energy use), SHP (ships), SLV (solvents), SWD (solid waste and waste water), TNR (off-road transportation), and TRO (road transportation). The results from the model simulations were compared with observational data and further optimized. The Northern Hemispheric (NH) upper tropospheric and stratospheric ethane trends were 0.33 ± 0.27 %/yr and −3.6 ± 0.3 %/yr, respectively, in 2006–2016. The global ethane emission for this decade was estimated to be 19.28 Tg/yr. Trends of methane and propane, and of the 12 model sectors provided more insights on the variation of ethane trends. FEF, RES, TRO, SWD and BIB are the top five contributing sectors to the observed ethane trends. An ethane plume for NH upper troposphere and stratosphere in 2010–2011 was identified to be due to fossil fuel related emissions, likely from oil and gas exploitation. The discrepancy between model results and observations suggests that the current ethane emission inventories must be improved and higher temporal-spatial resolution data of ethane are needed. This dataset is of value to future global ethane budget estimates and the optimization of current ethane inventories. The data are public accessible at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5112059 (Li et al., 2021b).

中文翻译：

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全球大气乙烷、丙烷和甲烷趋势（2006-2016）

摘要。甲烷、乙烷和丙烷是大气中含量最丰富的碳氢化合物。这些化合物有许多共同的排放源，并且都主要通过 OH 氧化去除。由于缺乏测量，它们在对流层上层和平流层的混合比率和长期趋势很少被报道。在这项研究中，我们提供了来自对流层上层 - 平流层下层 (UTLS) 区域的空中观测的长期（2006-2016 年）全球乙烷、丙烷和甲烷数据，并结合了同一时间和地点的乙烷大气模型模拟，关注全球乙烷趋势。该模型使用哥白尼排放清单 CAMS-GLOB 并区分 12 个乙烷排放部门（自然和人为）：BIO（生物排放）、BIB（生物质燃烧）、AWB（农业废物燃烧）、ENE（发电）、FEF（逃逸）、IND（工业过程）、RES（住宅能源使用）、SHP（船舶）、SLV（溶剂）、SWD（固体废物和废水）、TNR（非道路运输）和 TRO（公路运输）。将模型模拟的结果与观测数据进行比较并进一步优化。2006-2016 年北半球 (NH) 对流层上部和平流层乙烷趋势分别为 0.33 ± 0.27 %/yr 和 -3.6 ± 0.3 %/yr。这十年的全球乙烷排放量估计为 19.28 Tg/年。甲烷和丙烷的趋势以及 12 个模型部门的趋势为乙烷趋势的变化提供了更多见解。FEF、RES、TRO、SWD 和 BIB 是观察到的乙烷趋势的前五个贡献部门。2010-2011 年 NH 对流层上层和平流层的乙烷羽流被确定是由于化石燃料相关排放，可能来自石油和天然气开采。模型结果与观测之间的差异表明，必须改进当前的乙烷排放清单，需要更高的乙烷时空分辨率数据。该数据集对未来的全球乙烷预算估算和当前乙烷库存的优化具有价值。数据可在 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5112059 上公开访问（Li 等人，2021b）。该数据集对未来的全球乙烷预算估算和当前乙烷库存的优化具有价值。数据可在 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5112059 上公开访问（Li 等人，2021b）。该数据集对未来的全球乙烷预算估算和当前乙烷库存的优化具有价值。数据可在 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5112059 上公开访问（Li 等人，2021b）。