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Arctic haze

January 01, 1970

Arctic haze is the phenomenon of a visible reddish-brown springtime haze in the atmosphere at high latitudes in the Arctic due to anthropogenic[1] air pollution. A major distinguishing factor of Arctic haze is the ability of its chemical ingredients to persist in the atmosphere for significantly longer than other pollutants. Due to limited amounts of snow, rain, or turbulent air to displace pollutants from the polar air mass in spring, Arctic haze can linger for more than a month in the northern atmosphere.

History edit

Arctic haze was first noticed in 1750 when the Industrial Revolution began. Explorers and whalers could not figure out where the foggy layer was coming from. "Poo-jok" was the term the Inuit used for it.[2] Another hint towards clarifying this issue was relayed in notes approximately a century ago by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen. After trekking through the Arctic he found dark stains on the ice.[3] The term "Arctic haze" was coined in 1956 by J. Murray Mitchell, a US Air Force officer stationed in Alaska,[4] to describe an unusual reduction in visibility observed by North American weather reconnaissance planes. From his investigations, Mitchell thought the haze had come from industrial areas in Europe and China. He went on to become an eminent climatologist.[5] The haze is seasonal, reaching a peak in late winter and spring. When an aircraft is within a layer of Arctic haze, pilots report that horizontal visibility can drop to one tenth that of normally clear sky. At this time it was unknown whether the haze was natural or was formed by pollutants.

In 1972, Glenn Edmond Shaw attributed this smog to transboundary anthropogenic pollution, whereby the Arctic is the recipient of contaminants whose sources are thousands of miles away. Further research continues with the aim of understanding the impact of this pollution on global warming.[6]

Origin of pollutants edit

 
Long-range pollution pathways to the Arctic

Coal-burning in northern mid-latitudes contribute aerosols containing about 90% sulfur and the remainder carbon, that makes the haze reddish in color. This pollution is helping the Arctic warm up faster than any other region, although increases in greenhouse gases are the main driver of this climatic change.[7]

Sulfur aerosols in the atmosphere affect cloud formation, leading to localized cooling effects over industrialized regions due to increased reflection of sunlight, which masks the opposite effect of trapped warmth beneath the cloud cover. During the Arctic winter, however, there is no sunlight to reflect. In the absence of this cooling effect, the dominant effect of changes to Arctic clouds is an increased trapping of infrared radiation from the surface.

Ship emissions, mercury, aluminium, vanadium, manganese, and aerosol and ozone pollutants are many examples of the pollution that is affecting this atmosphere, but the smoke from forest fires is not a significant contributor.[8] Some of those pollutants figure among environmental effects of coal burning. Due to low deposition rates, these pollutants are not yet having adverse effects on people or animals. Different pollutants actually represent different colors of haze. Dr. Shaw discovered in 1976 that the yellowish haze is from dust storms in China and Mongolia. The particles were carried polewards by unusual air currents. The trapped particles were dark gray the next year he took a sample. That was caused by a heavy amount of industrial pollutants.[3]

A 2013 study found that at least 40% of the black carbon deposited in the Arctic originated from gas flares, predominately from oil extraction activities throughout the northern latitudes.[9][10] The black carbon is short-lived, but such routine flaring also emits vast quantities of sulphur. Home fires in India also contribute.[11]

Recent studies edit

According to Tim Garrett, an assistant professor of meteorology at the University of Utah involved in the study of Arctic haze at the university, mid-latitude cities contribute pollution to the Arctic, and it mixes with thin clouds, allowing them to trap heat more easily. Garrett's study found that during the dark Arctic winter, when there is no precipitation to wash out pollution, the effects are strongest, because pollutants can warm the environment up to three degrees Fahrenheit.[12]

Scientific predictions edit

European climatologists predicted in 2009 that by the end of the 21st century, the temperature of the Arctic region is expected to rise 3° Celsius on an average day.[13] In that same article, National Geographic quoted the co-author of the study, Andreas Stohl, of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, "Previous climate models have suggested that the Arctic's summer sea ice may completely disappear by 2040 if warming continues unabated."

See also edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Shaw, Glenn E. (December 1995). "The Arctic Haze Phenomenon". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 76 (12): 2403–2413. Bibcode:1995BAMS...76.2403S. doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1995)076<2403:TAHP>2.0.CO;2.
  2. ^ Garrett, Tim. Pollutant Haze is Heating up the Arctic. 10 May 2006. Earth Observatory. Earth Observatory News 2 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b "Soroos, Marvin. The odyssey of Arctic haze: toward a global atmosphere regime. December, 1992. Environment Magazine". Findarticles.com. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  4. ^ Rozell, Ned. "Arctic Haze: An Uninvited Spring Guest". 2 April 1996. Geographical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks. 1 May 2007. 12 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (8 October 1990). "J. Murray Mitchell, Climatologist Who Foresaw Warming Peril, 62 - Page 2". New York Times. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  6. ^ . Content.scholastic.com. 15 January 1995. Archived from the original on 22 December 2007. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  7. ^ Law, Kathy S.; Stohl, Andreas (16 March 2007). "Arctic Air Pollution: Origins and Impacts". Science. 315 (5818): 1537–1540. Bibcode:2007Sci...315.1537L. doi:10.1126/science.1137695. PMID 17363665. S2CID 40435586. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  8. ^ "Previously some scientists had speculated that the sooty carbon in the arctic air was the product of natural forest fires, rather than industrial combustion. But a clever application of carbon isotope dating rules out that possibility," observes John Harte, The Green Fuse: an ecological odyssey 1993:19; fossil fuels are comparatively depleted in rare heavy carbon, which decays slowly to nitrogen, so that wildfire carbon is identifiable by its carbon fingerprint.
  9. ^ Stohl, A.; Klimont, Z.; Eckhardt, S.; Kupiainen, K.; Chevchenko, V.P.; Kopeikin, V.M.; Novigatsky, A.N. (2013), "Black carbon in the Arctic: the underestimated role of gas flaring and residential combustion emissions" (PDF), Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13 (17): 8833–8855, Bibcode:2013ACP....13.8833S, doi:10.5194/acp-13-8833-2013
  10. ^ Michael Stanley (10 December 2018). (PDF). World Bank. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  11. ^ Lean, Geoffrey (3 April 2005). "Home Fires In India Melting Arctic Icecap". The Independent. London.
  12. ^ Study: The Haze is Heating Up the Arctic. 10 May 2006. United Press International.
  13. ^ "Summary report of " Arctic Climate Feedbacks: Global Implications" September 2009". Wwf.panda.org. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2013.

References edit

  • Connelly, Joel. Pictures of Arctic are Hard to Argue With. 13 November 2006. Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  • Study: The Haze is Heating Up the Arctic. 10 May 2006. United Press International.
  • . 1 January 1999. Scholastic.
  • Gorrie, Peter. Grim prognosis for Earth. 3 January 2007. Toronto Star.

External links edit

January 01, 1970
arctic, haze, phenomenon, visible, reddish, brown, springtime, haze, atmosphere, high, latitudes, arctic, anthropogenic, pollution, major, distinguishing, factor, ability, chemical, ingredients, persist, atmosphere, significantly, longer, than, other, pollutan. Arctic haze is the phenomenon of a visible reddish brown springtime haze in the atmosphere at high latitudes in the Arctic due to anthropogenic 1 air pollution A major distinguishing factor of Arctic haze is the ability of its chemical ingredients to persist in the atmosphere for significantly longer than other pollutants Due to limited amounts of snow rain or turbulent air to displace pollutants from the polar air mass in spring Arctic haze can linger for more than a month in the northern atmosphere Contents 1 History 2 Origin of pollutants 3 Recent studies 4 Scientific predictions 5 See also 6 Footnotes 7 References 8 External linksHistory editArctic haze was first noticed in 1750 when the Industrial Revolution began Explorers and whalers could not figure out where the foggy layer was coming from Poo jok was the term the Inuit used for it 2 Another hint towards clarifying this issue was relayed in notes approximately a century ago by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen After trekking through the Arctic he found dark stains on the ice 3 The term Arctic haze was coined in 1956 by J Murray Mitchell a US Air Force officer stationed in Alaska 4 to describe an unusual reduction in visibility observed by North American weather reconnaissance planes From his investigations Mitchell thought the haze had come from industrial areas in Europe and China He went on to become an eminent climatologist 5 The haze is seasonal reaching a peak in late winter and spring When an aircraft is within a layer of Arctic haze pilots report that horizontal visibility can drop to one tenth that of normally clear sky At this time it was unknown whether the haze was natural or was formed by pollutants In 1972 Glenn Edmond Shaw attributed this smog to transboundary anthropogenic pollution whereby the Arctic is the recipient of contaminants whose sources are thousands of miles away Further research continues with the aim of understanding the impact of this pollution on global warming 6 Origin of pollutants edit nbsp Long range pollution pathways to the Arctic Coal burning in northern mid latitudes contribute aerosols containing about 90 sulfur and the remainder carbon that makes the haze reddish in color This pollution is helping the Arctic warm up faster than any other region although increases in greenhouse gases are the main driver of this climatic change 7 Sulfur aerosols in the atmosphere affect cloud formation leading to localized cooling effects over industrialized regions due to increased reflection of sunlight which masks the opposite effect of trapped warmth beneath the cloud cover During the Arctic winter however there is no sunlight to reflect In the absence of this cooling effect the dominant effect of changes to Arctic clouds is an increased trapping of infrared radiation from the surface Ship emissions mercury aluminium vanadium manganese and aerosol and ozone pollutants are many examples of the pollution that is affecting this atmosphere but the smoke from forest fires is not a significant contributor 8 Some of those pollutants figure among environmental effects of coal burning Due to low deposition rates these pollutants are not yet having adverse effects on people or animals Different pollutants actually represent different colors of haze Dr Shaw discovered in 1976 that the yellowish haze is from dust storms in China and Mongolia The particles were carried polewards by unusual air currents The trapped particles were dark gray the next year he took a sample That was caused by a heavy amount of industrial pollutants 3 A 2013 study found that at least 40 of the black carbon deposited in the Arctic originated from gas flares predominately from oil extraction activities throughout the northern latitudes 9 10 The black carbon is short lived but such routine flaring also emits vast quantities of sulphur Home fires in India also contribute 11 Recent studies editAccording to Tim Garrett an assistant professor of meteorology at the University of Utah involved in the study of Arctic haze at the university mid latitude cities contribute pollution to the Arctic and it mixes with thin clouds allowing them to trap heat more easily Garrett s study found that during the dark Arctic winter when there is no precipitation to wash out pollution the effects are strongest because pollutants can warm the environment up to three degrees Fahrenheit 12 Scientific predictions editEuropean climatologists predicted in 2009 that by the end of the 21st century the temperature of the Arctic region is expected to rise 3 Celsius on an average day 13 In that same article National Geographic quoted the co author of the study Andreas Stohl of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research Previous climate models have suggested that the Arctic s summer sea ice may completely disappear by 2040 if warming continues unabated See also edit nbsp Global warming portal nbsp Ecology portal nbsp Environment portal Bioamplification Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution Global distillation Kyoto Protocol Montreal Protocol Ozone depletion Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic PollutantsFootnotes edit Shaw Glenn E December 1995 The Arctic Haze Phenomenon Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 76 12 2403 2413 Bibcode 1995BAMS 76 2403S doi 10 1175 1520 0477 1995 076 lt 2403 TAHP gt 2 0 CO 2 Garrett Tim Pollutant Haze is Heating up the Arctic 10 May 2006 Earth Observatory Earth Observatory News Archived 2 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine a b Soroos Marvin The odyssey of Arctic haze toward a global atmosphere regime December 1992 Environment Magazine Findarticles com Retrieved 11 October 2013 Rozell Ned Arctic Haze An Uninvited Spring Guest 2 April 1996 Geographical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks 1 May 2007 Archived 12 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine McFadden Robert D 8 October 1990 J Murray Mitchell Climatologist Who Foresaw Warming Peril 62 Page 2 New York Times Retrieved 7 February 2012 Contaminating the Arctic Content scholastic com 15 January 1995 Archived from the original on 22 December 2007 Retrieved 2013 10 11 Law Kathy S Stohl Andreas 16 March 2007 Arctic Air Pollution Origins and Impacts Science 315 5818 1537 1540 Bibcode 2007Sci 315 1537L doi 10 1126 science 1137695 PMID 17363665 S2CID 40435586 Retrieved 11 October 2013 Previously some scientists had speculated that the sooty carbon in the arctic air was the product of natural forest fires rather than industrial combustion But a clever application of carbon isotope dating rules out that possibility observes John Harte The Green Fuse an ecological odyssey 1993 19 fossil fuels are comparatively depleted in rare heavy carbon which decays slowly to nitrogen so that wildfire carbon is identifiable by its carbon fingerprint Stohl A Klimont Z Eckhardt S Kupiainen K Chevchenko V P Kopeikin V M Novigatsky A N 2013 Black carbon in the Arctic the underestimated role of gas flaring and residential combustion emissions PDF Atmos Chem Phys 13 17 8833 8855 Bibcode 2013ACP 13 8833S doi 10 5194 acp 13 8833 2013 Michael Stanley 10 December 2018 Gas flaring An industry practice faces increasing global attention PDF World Bank Archived from the original PDF on 15 February 2019 Retrieved 20 January 2020 Lean Geoffrey 3 April 2005 Home Fires In India Melting Arctic Icecap The Independent London Study The Haze is Heating Up the Arctic 10 May 2006 United Press International Summary report of Arctic Climate Feedbacks Global Implications September 2009 Wwf panda org 2 September 2009 Retrieved 11 October 2013 References editConnelly Joel Pictures of Arctic are Hard to Argue With 13 November 2006 Seattle Post Intelligencer Rozell Ned Arctic Haze An Uninvited Spring Guest 2 April 1996 Geographical Institute University of Alaska Fairbanks 1 May 2007 Study The Haze is Heating Up the Arctic 10 May 2006 United Press International Garrett Tim Pollutant Haze is Heating up the Arctic 10 May 2006 Earth Observatory Contaminating the Arctic 1 January 1999 Scholastic Gorrie Peter Grim prognosis for Earth 3 January 2007 Toronto Star External links editWhat is Arctic Haze Archived 27 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arctic haze amp oldid 1216500327, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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