Pollution in Pacific tied to Africa and Asia
Burning down forests in Africa and South-East Asia causes ozone
pollution in the air as far as the western Pacific Ocean, researchers
say, calling for revision of global climate models to reflect their
findings.
In a paper published in Nature Communications last week (13
January), the scientists say their data contradicts earlier theories on
the origins of ozone-rich air parcels above the tropical western
Pacific, which were thought to descend naturally from a higher
atmospheric layer.
Ozone, a greenhouse gas, occurs naturally in the atmosphere. But it is
also created from the reactions of pollutants produced by combustion
engines and burning trees to clear land for agriculture.
Flying in two research planes at two different heights, the scientists
analysed the air composition over Guam, the largest island of
Micronesia, in the western Pacific.
Image shows Ozone-polluted air paths in red and regions with active
fires in green. Credit: Daniel Anderson
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/49310
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