Nature & Environment
Warmer World Will Be A Hazier World, Study Finds
Rosanna Singh
First Posted: Nov 11, 2015 10:27 AM EST
Researchers found that as the earth becomes warmer, there will be more haze in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases (GHG) cause excess warming in the atmosphere, which leads to increasing aerosol types, ultimately affecting future air quality, according to the study.
"Our work on the models shows that nearly all aerosol species will increase under GHG-induced climate change," Robert J. Allen, lead author and climatologist said in a new release. Allen is also an assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California-Riverside.
Aerosol, along with miniature solid and liquid particles in the atmosphere, has major environmental consequences from which air quality is affected. The earth's radiative balance is also affected, since sunlight is either absorbed or distributed in unpredictable amounts.
"This includes natural aerosols, like dust and sea salt and also anthropogenic aerosols," Allen said. "Stricter reductions in aerosol emissions will be necessary for attaining a desired level of air quality through the 21st century."
The researchers' study focuses on how climate change is associated with GHG-induced warming, which increases the number of aerosols. The researchers used some of the latest computer models to determine how increasing aerosol species will affect future air quality. Allen claimed that GHGs change the state of the hydrological cycle and atmospheric circulation is impacted heavily. This ultimately puts air quality in a stagnant situation. Aerosols remain clustered in the atmosphere instead of being evenly distributed.
"Changes in the hydrological cycle and atmospheric circulation are complex and could lead to opposing changes in the distribution of aerosols," Allen said. "The models show that GHG warming will lead to more global-mean precipitation, which should reduce aerosol burden because the aerosols are rained out."
Additionally, GHG warming will also reduce precipitation within various regions. The researchers found that these factors will only increase atmospheric aerosols. The researchers' models revealed that by 2100, there will be an increase in aerosols in the atmosphere, as well as elevated species.
"The surprising finding is the consistency of the increase in aerosols over all the different models," Allen said. "We associate this increase in aerosols to a decrease in aerosol wet removal, the primary removal mechanism, which is driven by a decrease in large-scale precipitation over land, particularly during the Northern Hemisphere summer months of June-July-August."
This study was published in Nature Climate Change.
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TagsUniversity of California, Riverside, Greenhouse gases, Haze, Atmosphere, Environment, Climate Change, Aerosols, aerosol species, atmospheric warming, aerosol emissions, air quality, air pollution, Air Circulation ©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
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First Posted: Nov 11, 2015 10:27 AM EST
Researchers found that as the earth becomes warmer, there will be more haze in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases (GHG) cause excess warming in the atmosphere, which leads to increasing aerosol types, ultimately affecting future air quality, according to the study.
"Our work on the models shows that nearly all aerosol species will increase under GHG-induced climate change," Robert J. Allen, lead author and climatologist said in a new release. Allen is also an assistant professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California-Riverside.
Aerosol, along with miniature solid and liquid particles in the atmosphere, has major environmental consequences from which air quality is affected. The earth's radiative balance is also affected, since sunlight is either absorbed or distributed in unpredictable amounts.
"This includes natural aerosols, like dust and sea salt and also anthropogenic aerosols," Allen said. "Stricter reductions in aerosol emissions will be necessary for attaining a desired level of air quality through the 21st century."
The researchers' study focuses on how climate change is associated with GHG-induced warming, which increases the number of aerosols. The researchers used some of the latest computer models to determine how increasing aerosol species will affect future air quality. Allen claimed that GHGs change the state of the hydrological cycle and atmospheric circulation is impacted heavily. This ultimately puts air quality in a stagnant situation. Aerosols remain clustered in the atmosphere instead of being evenly distributed.
"Changes in the hydrological cycle and atmospheric circulation are complex and could lead to opposing changes in the distribution of aerosols," Allen said. "The models show that GHG warming will lead to more global-mean precipitation, which should reduce aerosol burden because the aerosols are rained out."
Additionally, GHG warming will also reduce precipitation within various regions. The researchers found that these factors will only increase atmospheric aerosols. The researchers' models revealed that by 2100, there will be an increase in aerosols in the atmosphere, as well as elevated species.
"The surprising finding is the consistency of the increase in aerosols over all the different models," Allen said. "We associate this increase in aerosols to a decrease in aerosol wet removal, the primary removal mechanism, which is driven by a decrease in large-scale precipitation over land, particularly during the Northern Hemisphere summer months of June-July-August."
This study was published in Nature Climate Change.
Related Articles
Antarctic Ice Sheets Caused Ancient Mediterranean Sea To Dry Up
Invasive Marine Species Benefiting From High Carbon Dioxide Levels
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone