September 21, 2006 'IMPORTED' POLLUTION TIED TO POOR AIR QUALITY IN TEXAS IN 2004 The study concludes that ozone pollution levels increased significantly in the air above Houston on July 19 and 20, 2004. Researchers attribute this increase in part as a result of smoke transported into the area over the course of a week from forest fires raging in Alaska and Canada. The study is one of only a few that has quantitatively examined the impact of remotely generated pollutants on air quality in the lower atmosphere. "The combination of our balloon-borne ozone data and observations by NASA satellites, aircraft, and a network of ground stations provided unprecedented insight into the origins of locally poor air quality in Houston on those two days," said study lead author Gary Morris of Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind. "We found that with the arrival of the pollutants associated with these forest fires, ozone levels increased between 50-100 percent in the first 5 kilometers over Houston," said Morris. Meteorological conditions, the smoke from the distant forest fires, and the typical urban pollution generated in the Houston area provided a potent mix for increasing local ozone concentrations. This study appears in the September issue of the American Geophysical Union's Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres. It was sponsored by NASA and included participants from several federal, academic and international institutions. For more information and images on the Web, visit: For more information about INTEX-NA on the Web, visit: For more information about TOMS on the Web, visit: For more information about AIRS on the Web, visit: For more information about MODIS on the Web, visit: For more information about IONS on the Web, visit: ## Contact: Mike Bettwy This text is derived from: Recommend this Article to a Friend Back to: News |
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