Good news on Arctic pollution

Journal Article · Fri Jun 11 04:00:00 EDT 1993 · Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States)

OSTI ID:6458573

Thinning ozone notwithstanding, researchers have uncovered one bright environmental spot in the Arctic. Pollution that hangs in layers over the region every spring -- the so-called Arctic haze -- has now declined to about 50% of what it was a decade ago, according to scientists at the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The haze, first observed in 1957, is a result of pollution from Europe and Asia that migrates north in later winter and early spring, say Barry A. Bodhaine and Ellsworth G. Dutton of NOAA. It grew yearly until 1982, then began a decline that probably stems from Russia's increased reliance on natural gas instead of coal and oil, as well as from tighter controls imposed on western European polluters. The researchers detected the decrease in springtime measurements at the NOAA Climate Monitoring Diagnostics Laboratory in Barrow, Alaska. A less significant decrease in springtime pollution was seen in aerosol monitoring at a station in the town of Alert in Canada's Northwest Territory. How the diminution of Arctic haze will affect climate is still uncertain. In 1983 NASA scientists factored the Arctic pollution, largely composed of sulfates, into their climate modeling and predicted that absorption of solar radiation would lead to a small Arctic warming. Now, says Bodhaine, all other things being equal, [open quotes]the warming effect of these particles should be half of what it was in 1983[close quotes].

• OSTI ID: 6458573
• Journal Information: Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States), Journal Name: Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States) Vol. 260:5114; ISSN SCIEAS; ISSN 0036-8075
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AIR POLLUTION
ALASKA
ARCTIC HAZE
ARCTIC REGIONS
CANADA
CLIMATIC CHANGE
CRYOSPHERE
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
EASTERN EUROPE
EUROPE
MITIGATION
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARTICLES
PARTICULATES
POLAR REGIONS
POLLUTION
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
US NOAA
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA