Abstract
Bromine, derived from methyl bromide emissions, is an efficient destroyer of stratospheric ozone. The two primary sources of methyl bromide emissions are the ocean, and agricultural pesticides. Another source of emissions is the smoke generated in biomass burning, as evidenced in wildfire smoke in chaparral, savannas, and boreal forests. Biomass burning now produces methyl bromide emissions at a level equivalent to those produced by the oceans (10-50 Gg annually), thus contributing 30% of the stratospheric bromine budget.