A study that brings together data collected over more than 25 years in Antarctica concludes that the concentration of this pollutant is increasing on the frozen continent , something that could have a very profound impact on the region’s climate.
Tropospheric ozone is a secondary pollutant that is formed when other molecules such as nitrogen oxides or volatile organic compounds, from emissions from vehicles and industry, react with sunlight. We are talking about one of the most harmful air pollutants for health, which can cause asthma and other respiratory problems, reduce lung function and cause multiple diseases. According to the European Environment Agency, tropospheric ozone causes only 1,600 premature deaths a year in Spain. In addition, another problem with tropospheric ozone – not to be confused with that which forms the ozone layer in the upper part of the atmosphere and protects us from ultraviolet radiation – is that it is one of the greenhouse gases that most contributes to global warming.
Recent studies have shown that tropospheric ozone concentrations are increasing globally in the southern hemisphere, and the authors of the new work, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology , set out to conduct a more localized analysis using measured ozone data. between 1992 and 2018 both at ground level and in the atmosphere , from the lower to the upper layers, and taken at eight sampling stations in Antarctica.
Ozone sources in Antarctica
The results reveal that the amount of ozone in the troposphere was lowest during December, January and February, corresponding to the austral summer, at which time the sun is intense enough to break down more ozone than is created. In addition, they discovered that the main sources of ozone were both natural – mainly the snow cover of the great plateau of East Antarctica and ozone produced by air mixing from the upper stratosphere to the troposphere – and anthropic , since some originated at the southern tip of South America.
The researchers also found that ground-level ozone had increased by as much as 0.14 parts per billion per year over the time the surveys lasted , even taking into account natural and seasonal patterns. Due to ozone’s ability to retain heat near the Earth’s surface, this growing trend could have negative impacts on the region in the future, the researchers conclude.
