Tracking the Key Arctic Pollutants
An immediate effort is needed to reduce the key pollutant levels contributing to the Arctic meltdown.
Black Carbon
Black Carbon Pollution is caused from the incomplete combustion of fuels resulting in the emission of ultrafine particles of carbon. These particles absorb heat in the atmosphere and are 30,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a GHG on an annual time horizon basis. Further contributing to issues of global warming, when black carbon settles atop snow and ice, it grays the snow and ice and lowers its reflective power, which greatly accelerates melting. Satellite imaging reveals distinct plumes of black carbon originating from central Asia and Russia that travel over the Arctic and contribute to the Arctic Ice Sheet thinning. The following black carbon data is from Science On a Sphere a project of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), see their site for more information.
At the highest concentration, the brightest white, Black Carbon is 2.5 more intense compaired to background heat of CO2 since the dawn of the industral age (from 1850 until now.)
Tracking Black Carbon Pollution by Region delineates where the hot spots are located. Other hot spot regions in the world are found in Africa, South America, the Indian Sub-Continent and Asia. These hot spots are likely contributing to more violent storms and droughts in the receiving region.
Tracking Increases in Spring Biogenic Arctic Methane Pollution
A powerful air current vortex forms over the North Pole each winter. The surface- and upper- atmospheric winds form a tight ring of air current that draws in winter tundra methane plumes. And in the winter months, methane does not break down because of the lack of sunlight. As a result, the Arctic concentrations of methane are 35-50 percent higher than those found in the tropics. Because methane is 105 times more potent GHG on an annual time horizon basis than carbon dioxide, the methane concentrations are now increasing Arctic spring temperatures by 10°C and playing a major role in the earlier spring ice thaws. Earlier thaws, by up to four weeks, lead to earlier and more intense formation of biogenic methane, which in turn leads to more regional warming, in a virtual feedback loop ultimately self-destructive to the Arctic.
Tropospheric Ozone
Tropospheric Ozone Pollution is ozone (a component of smog) that rises up into the troposphere (up to 12 km high) and lasts for approximatley 30 days. Tropospheric ozone is 20,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a GHG on an annual time horizon basis. The heating effects from these tropospheric ozone plumes have gone unaddressed by current climate change policies and mitigation; however, tropospheric ozone is such a potent GHG, that even with its short life span, it markedly effects climate change/global warming.
The image shown below represents the South American tropospheric ozone plume that may be contributing to the rapid melting of western Antarctica; tropospheric ozone plumes are also hitting the Arctic, increasing atmospheric heat by 40 percent and potentially contributing to the rapid disappearance of Arctic Ice Sheet.
