Ozone major player in Arctic warming, NASA finds
Last Updated Tue, 14 Mar 2006 19:36:07 ESTCBC News
Harmful ground-level ozone may play a greater role in Arctic temperature increases than previously thought, climate change researchers say.
Scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York say ozone in the atmosphere may have contributed from one-third to one-half of the temperature increase in the Arctic zone in the last 100 years.
The study's authors used computer modelling to try to determine what role ozone played in global temperature increases in the last 120 years.
Ozone in the upper atmosphere protects the planet from harmful ultraviolet radiation; but the ozone researchers are referring to in the study is closer to the ground, and is created by vehicle emissions and the northern hemisphere's industrial infrastructure.
This ground-level ozone, a major contributor to the smog found in cities in summer, is harmful to plants and animals.
The effect was greatest in the winter and spring, when ozone is transported from industrial centres to the Arctic more efficiently than in the summer.
Scientists said they were surprised to find the role ozone may have played in heating Arctic regions.
"Instead of being this tiny player, [ozone] can be more like 30 or 40 or even 50 per cent of the cause of warming that we're seeing in the Arctic now," lead author Drew Shindell said. "It's very dramatic."
Shindell also said the results have uncovered an unexpected benefit of ozone pollution control efforts around the world. "We now see that reducing ozone pollution can not only improve air quality but also have the added benefit of easing climate warming, especially in the Arctic."
posted by ... @ 2:42 PM
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