NOAA Studies Arctic Pollution
08.04.2008 - Logistics, Other
NOAA scientists want to be able to know whether the "Arctic Haze" occurring every winter and spring is linked to the rapid warming of the Arctic over a few decades. A couple of studies are going to be done in order to provide more data about the possible relationship between Arctic pollution and climate change in the high latitudes.
Scientists have clear evidence that the Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the globe, that Summer sea-ice extent has decreased and that the ice is thinning. Industry, transportation, and biomass burning in North America, Europe, and Asia are emitting trace gases and tiny airborne particles that are polluting the far North, forming an "Arctic Haze" every winter and spring. Scientists suspect these pollutants are speeding up the polar melt.
ARCPAC (Aerosol, Radiation, and Cloud Processes affecting Arctic Climate Change) is an International Polar Year project that is going to provide scientists with important data regarding airborne particles, altered clouds, low-altitude ozone, and soot deposited on snow. All are produced or affected by human activities and may be playing key roles in the rapid warming.
ICEALOT (International Chemistry Experiment in the Arctic Lower Troposphere) is another international project that will gather shipboard measurements of atmospheric fine particles and trace gases in the air above the North Greenland and Barents Seas. These areas are closer to pollution sources than the ARCPAC study area. NOAA scientists are eager to compare the pollution north of Alaska with the more recent emissions near Europe.
