Researchers identify the cleanest air on the planet in the Southern Ocean off the coast of Antarctica, which contains no traceable aerosols or other particles produced by humans
- Scientists sailed to the Southern Ocean near Antarctica to measure air quality
- They found no aerosols, bacteria, or other particles that traced to human activity
- The team believe the region has the cleanest air on the planet
Researchers have identified a region in the Southern Ocean off the coast of Antartica as having the cleanest air on Earth.
A team of climate scientists from Colorado State University, led by Sonia Kreidenweis, were curious to see just how far particles produced by human industry and activity reach.
To find out, they sailed into the Southern Ocean, which encircles Antartica below 40 degrees south latitude, and measured the composition of the air at several points.
Climate scientists from Colorado State University sailed to the Southern Ocean in search of the cleanest air on the planet
They took measurements from the boundary layer, a part of the lower atmosphere that comes in direct contact with the surface of the ocean and reaches as high as 1.2 miles into the atmosphere.
The team’s samples showed no aerosols or other particles that were connected to human pollution or other activity.
Instead the majority of particles and bacteria were traced back to upwind territories and other nearby areas where bacteria and microscopic matter from the ocean mixed with the wind and circulated through the atmosphere.
The team combined wind data for the region with analysis of other samples collected from the ocean and atmosphere surrounding the main test site to track the origin of the particles in the original reading.
‘We were able to use the bacteria in the air over the Southern Ocean as a diagnostic tool to infer key properties of the lower atmosphere,’ Colorado State’s Thomas Hill told the university’s news blog.
The measured the boundary layer of the atmosphere, a 1.2 mile layer of air that runs over the surface of the ocean, and found almost all of the particles and bacteria in air samples were traced to the ocean and other nearby landmass
According to the team, the Southern Ocean is one of the few remaining places on the planet where the direct impact of human industry and activity isn’t immediately obvious
‘For example, that the aerosols controlling the properties of [Southern Ocean] clouds are strongly linked to ocean biological processes, and that Antarctica appears to be isolated from southward dispersal of microorganisms and nutrient deposition from southern continents.’
‘Overall, it suggests that the [Southern Ocean] is one of very few places on Earth that has been minimally affected by anthropogenic activities.’
The previous site of the world’s ‘cleanest air’ was identified by researchers in 2019 on Cape Grim in Tasmania, near the northern edge of the Southern Ocean.
Cattle farmers in the region advertise the quality of their beef based on the purity of the air and the clean rainwater it produces to feed the local grasses their cows feed on.
WHAT IS THE AIR QUALITY INDEX?
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a measure used by environmental agencies and other public bodies around the world to measure how clean the air is.
The lower the index is, the better the quality of the air.
The AQI provides a number which is easy to compare between different pollutants, locations, and time periods.
Exactly how this score is categorised varies from country to country, but each category in the AQI corresponds to a different level of health risk.
The daily results of the index are used to convey to the public an estimate of air pollution level.
The AQI provides a number which is easy to compare between different pollutants, locations, and time periods. Exactly how this score is categorised varies from country to country, but each category in theAQI corresponds to a different level of health risk
An increase in air quality index signifies increased air pollution and severe threats to human health.
The AQI centres on the health effects that may be experienced within a few days or hours after breathing polluted air.
AQI calculations focus on major air pollutants including: particulate matter, ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
Particulate matter and ozone pollutants pose the highest risks to human health and the environment.
For each of these air pollutant categories, different countries have their own established air quality indices in relation to other nationally set air quality standards for public health protection.