Pollution hot spots detected by ESA satellite
A satellite monitoring system developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) is helping scientists to understand changes in the Earth's atmosphere, and to plan measures to reduce our environmental impact. Greenhouse gases were the focus of much attention at the recent climate talks in The Hague, but these gases are only part of the problem. Humankind generates a wide variety of emissions that are changing the chemistry and composition of our planet's atmosphere. Aboard ERS-2 is an instrument called the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME). In addition to detecting the presence of total ozone in the atmosphere, the device is also able to map the plethora of other gases. 'The atmosphere is a very complex chemical system,' explains the ESA's Claus Zehner, 'and global warming through greenhouse gases is only one of the effects we need to investigate. Here at ESA we facilitate the study of the behaviour of a wide range of gases in the atmosphere. They can tell us a great deal about the effects of man's industrial activities - and also about the relationship between the natural environment and atmospheric chemistry.' The instrument has already detected pollution hot spots on the Szechuan plateau, a heavily industrialised area of China which sits in a natural bowl formed by the surrounding mountains; in Italy and over Bucharest, Romania. Scientists around the world are using GOME data for a variety of projects. Examples include the measurement of nitrogen dioxide due to biomass burning, in forest or grassland fires for example, or by industrial activities, the measurement of sulphur dioxide as released by volcanoes and the burning of coal in electricity generation plants and the measurement of formaldehyde, released by biomass burning and biogenic activity (forests). GOME data and its three successor instruments on Envisat are expected to be important tools in efforts to battle environmental pollution and climate change in the 21st century.