Air Pollution News Bites: 08-02-07

- A recent study estimates that demand for air pollution control products in China will increase by 18 percent each year through 2010. The increase is attributed to the Chinese government’s plan to increase the purchase of air pollution control technology and new legislation concerning strict environmental protection regulations. Products in demand by China include: electrostatic precipitators, baghouse systems, particulate filters, and catalysts.

- A new analysis studying atmospheric “brown clouds” hovering over Asia, have concluded that the buildup of greenhouse gases mainly due to the burning of fossil fuels, is a major contributor to the melting of tropical glaciers such as those found in the Himalayans. Researchers found that combining the heating effect of greenhouse gases and the elements found in brown clouds, such as soot, heightens the effect of global warming.

"The conventional thinking is that brown clouds have masked as much as 50 percent of global warming by greenhouse gases through so-called global dimming," said atmospheric chemist V. Ramanathan. "While this is true globally, this study reveals that over southern and eastern Asia, the soot particles in the brown clouds are in fact amplifying the atmospheric warming trend caused by greenhouse gases by as much as 50 percent."

He went on to state, "It is likely that in curbing greenhouse gases we can tackle the twin challenges of climate change and brown clouds, and in doing so, reap wider benefits--from reduced air pollution to improved agricultural yields."

See the Source:
MarketWire
National Science Foundation

Find out:
How to reduce particulate pollution by using diesel particulate filters

air pollution
global-warming

East Meets West: The Impact of Asian Pollution on Clouds, Weather, Climate Change

Using the newest aircraft for environmental research, scientists are launching a project to study and track plumes of dust and pollutants which originate in Asia and travel across the Pacific to North America. Captured as “event”, it is believed they are so large in size as to have an affect on cloud formation, weather and global climate change.

The Pacific Dust Experiment (PACDEX) will be launched in late April and continue for two months.

"PACDEX will open a window into what happens to the atmosphere as these massive plumes cross the Pacific Ocean. The plumes affect clouds, precipitation, and the amount of sunlight that reaches Earth," explains National Center for Atmospheric Research scientist Jeff Stith, a principal investigator on the project. "We want to determine how the various particles of dust and pollutants in the plumes influence clouds and climate, and how far downwind those effects occur."

Sulfate particles found within the plumes cool the planet by blocking solar radiation, at the same time that other particles of black carbon create a warming effect by absorbing sunlight. Various particles may also mask up to half of the global warming impact of greenhouse gases. Future warming will be influenced by the amount of particulate matter emissions originating in Asia.

Dust and pollutants also reduce light, contributing to the “global dimming” phenomenon that can affect temperature and precipitation.

See the Source:
The National Center for Atmospheric Research and the UCAR Office of Programs

Find out:
How to reduce particulate emissions using diesel particulate filters