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New analysis has found increasing emissions of several ozone-depleting chemicals despite their production being banned for most uses under the Montreal Protocol—and a loophole in the rules is likely responsible. According to the researchers, emissions from these CFCs currently do not significantly threaten ozone recovery.
A study led by Norwegian climate center CICERO has found that the global warming effect of leaked hydrogen is almost 12 times stronger than that of CO 2. Rather, it is the leaking of hydrogen from production, transportation and usage that adds to global warming. A global warming potential of 11.6 Sand et al. Sand et al.
Ozone levels across much of North America and Europe dropped significantly between 2000 and 2014. People living in parts of southern Europe, South Korea and southern Japan and China also experienced more than 15 days a year of ozone levels above 70 ppb. Trends in daily maximum ozone levels (known as 4MDA8) at urban and non-urban sites.
Levels of two major air pollutants have been reduced significantly since lockdowns began in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a secondary pollutant—ground-level ozone—has increased in China, according to new research. Ozone is harmful to humans at ground-level, causing pulmonary and heart disease. —Guy Brasseur.
The rapidly growing space industry may have a greater climate effect than the aviation industry and undo repair to the protective ozone layer if left unregulated, according to a new study led by UCL and published in the journal Earth’s Future as an open-access paper. The space industry is one of the world’s fastest growing sectors.
A study by an international team led by scientists at the University of East Anglia have identified four new man-made gases in the atmosphere, all of which are contributing to the destruction of the ozone layer. CFCs are the main cause of the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. Brenninkmeijer, Paul J. Oram, Claire E.
Springtime ozone distributions for 1984, 1995–2008 in the mid-troposphere (3.0–8.0 Springtime ozone levels above western North America are rising primarily due to air flowing eastward from the Pacific Ocean, a trend that is largest when the air originates in Asia. The US EPA recently proposed new tougher ground-level ozone standards.
Exposure to ozone, long associated with impaired lung function, is also connected to health changes that can cause cardiovascular disease such as heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke, according to a new study of Chinese adults. The findings associated ozone exposure with markers of platelet activation and increased blood pressure.
A NASA-led study has documented an unprecedented depletion of Earth’s protective ozone layer above the Arctic last winter and spring caused by an unusually prolonged period of extremely low temperatures in the stratosphere. The same ozone-loss processes occur each winter in the Arctic.
Emissions of one of the chemicals most responsible for the Antarctic ozone hole are on the rise, despite an international treaty that required an end to its production in 2010, a new study by researchers at NOAA and their colleagues shows. —NOAA scientist Stephen Montzka, lead author of the paper.
Negative RF (cooling) contributions arise from sulfate aerosol production. Net warming from NO x emissions is a sum over warming (short-term ozone increase) and cooling (decreases in methane and stratospheric water vapor, and a long-term decrease in ozone) terms. 3.4) % of the net anthropogenic ERF of 2290 (1130, 3330) mW m ?2.
CSIRO scientists have developed a new way to account for ozone in computer simulations of the climate. This latest modeling shows that the oceans take much less ozone out of the atmosphere than previously thought. Ozone (O 3 ) is formed by reactions of chemicals such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds—i.e.,
The global market for rocket launches may require more stringent regulation in order to prevent significant damage to Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer in the decades to come, according to a new study by researchers in California and Colorado. Darin Toohey.
Percent reduction in visible solar energy due to ambient PM (plus a small contribution from ozone) (A), only dust PM deposition (B) deposition of all PM components (C), and atmospheric and deposited combined (D; note change in scale). The resulting calculations estimate the total loss of solar energy production in every part of the world.
Ozone pollution near Earth’s surface is one of the main ingredients of summertime smog. It is also not directly measurable from space due to the abundance of ozone higher in the atmosphere, which obscures measurements of surface ozone. —Jin et al.
Renault’s comparison of the carbon footprint of EV and ICE vehicles over production, operation and end of life. The study used the series production versions launched in 2011, with the assumption of operation for 150,000 km (93,205 miles). in the atmosphere and consequently of global warming potential. Click to enlarge.
Although halogens released from long-lived anthropogenic substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), are the principal cause of the recent depletion of stratospheric ozone, recent observations show that very short-lived substances (VSLS), with lifetimes generally under six months, are also an important source of stratospheric halogens.
Led by the tiny Pacific island of the Federated States of Micronesia, a growing group of low-lying islands and other vulnerable countries are calling for fast action on the approximately 50% of global warming that is caused by pollutants other than carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The next round of UN climate negotiations begins in Cancun today.
Following this BAU scenario, the researchers projected that air quality for the global average citizen in 2050 would be almost comparable to that for the average citizen in East Asia in the year 2005—an outcome which underscores the need to pursue emission reductions, according to the authors. —Pozzer et al.
The decrease in CO 2 equivalent emissions of ODSs (ozone-depleting substances: CFCs, halons, HCFCs, and others) may be offset by the projected increase in their non-ozone depleting substitutes (HFCs) (lines designated as HFC scenarios). Climate and the Ozone Layer. Source: UNEP. Click to enlarge.
On a per-storage basis, the team found that the NiMH technology was found to have the highest environmental impact, followed by NCM and then LFP, for all categories considered except ozone depletion potential. They also found higher life cycle global warming emissions than have been previously reported. —Majeau-Bettez et al.
The US, Canada, and Mexico have submitted a proposal to strengthen climate protection under the Montreal Protocol— the international treaty that phases out the production of a number of substances responsible for ozone depletion. The proposal targets the production and use of HFCs, a group of “super” greenhouse gases.
While they do not deplete the ozone layer, many are highly potent greenhouse gases whose use is growing rapidly as replacements for ozone-depleting substances being phased out under the Montreal Protocol. The Montreal Protocol was established in 1987 to protect the ozone layer.
Globalozone-depleting substances (ODSs) and HFC emissions (A), global CO 2 and HFC emissions (B), and ODS, HFC, and CO 2 global RF (C) for the period 2000–2050. These HFCs, gases used in refrigerators and air conditioners, are substitutes for ozone-depleting gases, but they are also strong greenhouse gases.
The United States and China will work together and with other countries to use the expertise and institutions of the Montreal Protocol to phase down the consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), among other forms of multilateral cooperation. While they do not deplete the ozone layer, many are highly potent greenhouse gases.
China is responsible for only a small percentage of the annual pollution in the US, but powerful global winds known as “westerlies” can push airborne chemicals across the ocean in days, particularly during the spring, causing dangerous spikes in contaminants. When you buy a product at Wal-Mart, it has to be manufactured somewhere.
This new global emission estimate is startling. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change and stratospheric ozone destruction. Rates of nitrous oxide production via denitrification in small streams increase with nitrate concentrations.
Ethane reacts with sunlight and other molecules in the atmosphere to form ozone, which at the surface can cause respiratory problems, eye irritation and other ailments and damage crops. And they’re sufficient to explain much of the global shift in ethane concentrations. In the past two years, however, production has plateaued.
In its recently released Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990 – 2011 ( earlier post ), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that methane (CH 4 ) emissions from the field production of natural gas have declined by 36% from 2007 to 2011 (from 83.1 a global warming potential of 21. Field production.
Sharkey’s research team already has measured rates of isoprene emission from plants that are used by the Environmental Protection Agency to predict lower-atmosphere ozone levels. His team also has created models to measure how much isoprene plants release on a global scale.
Maersk Container Industry (MCI) is calling for tougher enforcement of European environmental legislation designed to protect the Earth’s ozone layer and help prevent climate change. Current EU legislation bans the “import” or “placing on the market” of reefer containers with significant potential to damage the climate and ozone layer.
Global average values for the year 2000. A new study comparing both the absolute and normalized climate impacts of current passenger and freight transportation finds that driving a car increases global temperatures in the long run more than making the same long-distance journey by air. Bars represent 1 SD. Click to enlarge.
Such products will exist even if the net GHG emissions from the fuel life cycle are zero.Soot and sulfate aerosols generate atmospheric warming and cooling, respectively, and have lifetimes on the order of days to weeks. NO x emissions also stimulate the production of additional OH, acting as a sink for CH 4.
These findings will help to improve the understanding of global processes involved in cloud formation and air pollution and to refine the corresponding models. pinene into the chamber and caused the compound to react with ozone. In winter, however, emissions from wood-burning systems and their reaction products come to the fore.
The 100-year global warming potentials (GWPs) for methane, CO, and NO x (per Tg N) as given in the AR4 and in this study when including no aerosol response; the direct radiative effect of aerosol responses; and the direct+indirect radiative effects of aerosol responses. Source: Shindell at al. Click to enlarge. —Drew Shindell.
They found that reductions in ground ozone during this 35-year period resulted in $600 million in increased production annually by the early 2010s. These aren’t the things that are providing the global population with its main source of calories. An open-access paper on the work appears in Nature Food. —Steven Davis.
The global warming potentials (GWP) of HFCs range from 140 (HFC-152a) to 11,700 (HFC-23), according to the US EPA. HFCs are chemicals are potential substitutes for ozone-depleting and climate-warming CFCs and HCFCs currently being phased out under the Montreal Protocol treaty to protect the ozone layer.
GW = global warming; Eut. eutrophication; ET = ecological toxicity; FEC = fossil energy consumption; WU = water use; LO = land occupation; “The rest” includes acidification; smog formation; ozone layer depletion; and human health effects. Environmental impacts of gasoline and E85. Error bar shows regional variations for E85.
The researchers believe the measurements will substantially impact the understanding of atmospheric chemistry mechanisms—in particular, in the more rapid formation of secondary aerosols, important in the formation of local smog as well as in global climate change. Carl Percival. —Welz et al. —Marston (2012).
to blend the low global warming potential, ASHRAE-listed hydrocarbon refrigerants HCR188C/R441A (a replacement for R134A) and HCR188C/R443A (a replacement for R22). Work is underway for the TEGA blending facility to be ETL safety certified by Intertek Germany for this production; the company expects to go into production within 30 days.
Cutting HFCs, black carbon, tropospheric ozone, and methane can buy us about 40 years before we approach the dangerous threshold of 2°C warming. —co-author HFCs are powerful greenhouse gases originally developed as substitutes for ozone-depleting chemicals. From Molina et al. Earlier post.) With indoor air pollution killing 1.6
Shipping-induced global temperature change in 2050 using different parameterizations of Indirect Aerosol Effect (IAE). Other than these emissions from combustion associated with main engines and boilers, there are also emissions of ozone-depleting substances (CFCs/HCFCs/ HFCs) from refrigerant and air conditioning systems.
This category of emissions is the largest source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by automobiles, which are a main source of haze, ozone, and particulate matter. Helps meet global emission regulations. If fuel vapor is released into the atmosphere, it contributes to a category of pollutants known as evaporative emissions.
A multidisciplinary team of product developers, chemists and material scientists will work to discover new products for the US automotive, construction, sports and leisure industries. BASF has opened a new research lab for thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) in Wyandotte, Michigan.
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