Chemical belt measured between clean Australia and dirty Southeast Asia

William Atkins
Saturday, 11 October 2008 19:07

Science - Climate

According to the MSNBC article “Experts find 'chemical equator' dividing globe,” the researchers stated on Tuesday, September 23, 2008, that “The discovery will provide clues to help scientists model simulations of the movement of pollutants in the atmosphere more accurately, and to assess the impact of pollution on climate..”

The MSNBC article contains a figure of the chemically-divided Earth.

Dr. Hamilton stated, “The shallow waters of the Western Pacific, known as the Tropical Warm Pool, have some of highest sea surface temperatures in the world, which result in the region's weather being dominated by storm systems.” [MSNBC]

She adds, “The position of the chemical equator was to the south of this stormy region.”

And, "… powerful storms may act as pumps, lifting highly polluted air from the surface to high in the atmosphere where pollutants will remain longer and may have a global influence."

Further information is found in the LiveScience article “Earth's Air Divided by Chemical Equator.”