Arctic Haze - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Arctic haze is the phenomenon

Phenomenon

A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...

of a visible reddish-brown haze

Haze

Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other dry particles obscure the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classification of horizontal obscuration into categories of fog, ice fog, steam fog, mist, haze, smoke, volcanic...

in the atmosphere

Atmosphere

An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...

at high latitude

Latitude

In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...

s in the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

due to air pollution

Air pollution

Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....

. A major distinguishing factor of Arctic haze is the ability of its chemical ingredients to persist in the atmosphere for an extended period of time compared to other pollutants. Due to limited amounts of snow

Snow

Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...

, rain

Rain

Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...

, or turbulent air to displace pollutants from the polar air mass in spring, Arctic haze can linger for more than a month in the northern atmosphere.

History of Arctic haze

Arctic haze was first noticed in 1750 when the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

began. Explorers and whalers could not figure out where the foggy layer was coming from. "Poo-jok" was the term the Inuit

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

used for it. Another hint towards this issue was relayed through notes by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Nansen

Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...

. After trekking through the Arctic he found dark stains on the ice. This was about a century ago. The term "Arctic haze" was coined in 1956 by Murray Mitchell, a U.S. Air Force officer stationed in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, to describe an unusual reduction in visibility observed by North American weather reconnaissance planes. When an aircraft is within a layer of Arctic haze, pilots report that horizontal visibility can drop to one tenth that of normally clear sky. At this time it was unknown as to whether the haze was natural or was formed by pollutants, so no further research was done in the next 18 years.

The haze is seasonal, reaching a peak in late winter and spring. In 1972 Dr. Glenn Shaw of the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska attributed this smog to transboundary anthropogenic pollution, whereby the Arctic is the recipient of contaminants whose sources are thousands of miles away.

The pollutants are commonly thought to originate from coal-burning in northern mid-latitudes, especially from Asia. The aerosols contain about 90% sulfur

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

and the rest is carbon

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

, which makes the haze reddish in color. This pollution is helping the Arctic warm up faster than any other region on Earth, although increases in greenhouse gas

Greenhouse gas

A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...

es are the main driver of this climatic change

Climatic Change

Climatic Change is a scientific journal published by Springer Science+Business Media. It deals with the problems of climatic variability and change...

.

Sulfur aerosols in the atmosphere affect cloud formation, leading to localized cooling effects over industrialized regions due to increased reflection

Albedo

Albedo , or reflection coefficient, is the diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface. It is defined as the ratio of reflected radiation from the surface to incident radiation upon it...

of sunlight. During the Arctic winter, however, there is no sunlight to reflect. In the absence of this cooling effect, the dominant effect of changes to Arctic clouds is an increased trapping of infrared

Infrared

Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

radiation from the surface.

Origin of pollutants

The Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution

was the first era that toxic substances built up to create a blanket of haze. Ship emissions, the smoke

Smoke

Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...

from forest fire

Wildfire

A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...

s, mercury

Mercury (element)

Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...

, aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

, vanadium

Vanadium

Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery gray, ductile and malleable transition metal. The formation of an oxide layer stabilizes the metal against oxidation. The element is found only in chemically combined form in nature...

, manganese

Manganese

Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...

, and aerosol

Aerosol

Technically, an aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in a gas. Examples are clouds, and air pollution such as smog and smoke. In general conversation, aerosol usually refers to an aerosol spray can or the output of such a can...

and ozone

Ozone

Ozone , or trioxygen, is a triatomic molecule, consisting of three oxygen atoms. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope...

pollutants are many examples of the pollution that is affecting this atmosphere. Some of those pollutants are indications of coal burning. Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

from factories and cars also contribute to the pollution that warms the Arctic a couple degrees during the so-called "episodes". Different pollutants actually represent different colors of haze. Dr. Shaw discovered, in 1976, that the yellowish haze is from dust storm

Dust storm

A dust / sand storm is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Particles are transported by saltation and suspension, causing soil to move from one place and deposition...

s in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

and Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

. The particles were carried by unusual air current

Air current

Air currents may be caused by differences in temperature, pressure, or impurity concentration. Temperature differences can cause air currents because warmer air is less dense than cooler air, causing the warmer air to appear "lighter." Thus, if the warm air is under the cool air, air currents will...

s. The trapped particles were dark gray the next year he took a sample. That was caused by a heavy amount of industrial pollutants.

Recent studies

According to Tim Garrett, an assistant professor of meteorology at the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

, mid-latitude cities contribute pollution to the Arctic, and it mixes with thin clouds, allowing them to trap heat more easily. Garrett was involved in the study of Arctic haze at the university. The study found that during the dark Arctic winter

Polar night

The polar night occurs when the night lasts for more than 24 hours. This occurs only inside the polar circles. The opposite phenomenon, the polar day, or midnight sun, occurs when the sun stays above the horizon for more than 24 hours.-Description:...

, when there is no precipitation to wash out pollution, the effects are strongest, because pollutants can warm the environment up to three degrees Fahrenheit.

Well-known researchers

Dr. Glenn E. Shaw, from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, was the first scientist to put forth ideas about Arctic Haze in 1972. His findings are currently being pursued by researchers in understanding the impact of this pollution towards global warming

Global warming

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

. The Arctic is perceived, by many people, as a pure, clean, cold region of the Earth because there is not much industrial life. Cold is correct, but the haze proves that pollution travels.

Another famous researcher discovered the haze phenomenon by mistake. Only as a hobby did Subhankar Banerjee, a native of Calcutta, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, take up photography in the Arctic, and in doing so, became a spokesperson for the region. He shot photos of 3,000 caribou at once crossing the Utukok River

Utukok River

The Utukok River is a long river in the North Slope Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska that flows into the Chukchi Sea.Rising at in the De Long Mountains at the confluence of Kogruk Creek and Tupik Creek and flowing north, northeast, and then northwest, to Kasegaluk Lagoon and the Arctic Ocean, ...

. Snow geese

Snow Goose

The Snow Goose , also known as the Blue Goose, is a North American species of goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The genus of this bird is disputed...

and the brant chicks were also in vast wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

s around Teshekpuk Lake

Teshekpuk Lake

Teshekpuk Lake is a -wide lake on the Arctic coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, South of Pitt Point, East of Harrison Bay, East of Point Barrow.- Etymology :...

. Many pictures show muskoxen apparently silhouetted in fog.

Banerjee presented the photographs to the Smithsonian

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

who then arranged for his photos and captions to go on prominent display at the National Museum of Natural History

National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....

in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

Senator Barbara Boxer

Barbara Boxer

Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....

, a Democrat from California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, showed his work on the Senate floor. The Interior Secretary

United States Secretary of the Interior

The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...

at the time, Gale Norton

Gale Norton

Gale Ann Norton served as the 48th United States Secretary of the Interior from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush...

, said the coastal plain

Coastal plain

A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in eastern South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...

is "flat white nothingness" for most of the year, so Boxer was rebutting with the photos. Fearful of Alaska's congressional delegation, the Smithsonian censored the quotes on the photos and sent them to the basement corridor.

The whole situation ended up making Banerjee a national figure, and his censored exhibit was displayed at Burke Museum

Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture

The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture has been a Washington state museum since 1899. It is located at the University of Washington campus at the intersection of N.E. 45th Street and 17th Avenue N.E. in Seattle, Washington, USA, in the University District. It is the only major natural...

and the University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

and museums in San Francisco and New York.

After that, he launched The Mountaineers into an ambitious series of books designed to focus the human eye on major environmental issues, all because of his book, "Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land".

What is to come

European climatologists predict that by the end of the 21st century, the temperature of the Arctic region is expected to rise 3° Celsius

Celsius

Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...

on an average day. In the same article, National Geographic quoted co-author of the study, Andreas Stohl, of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, "Previous climate models have suggested that the Arctic's summer sea ice may completely disappear by 2040 if warming continues unabated." Practically all pollution in the high Arctic arrives from more southerly latitudes. Along with the warming comes melting sea ice. Arctic shrinkage

Arctic shrinkage

Ongoing changes in the climate of the Arctic include rising temperatures, loss of sea ice, and melting of the Greenland ice sheet. Projections of sea ice loss suggest that the Arctic ocean will likely be free of summer sea ice sometime between 2060 and 2080, while another estimate puts this date at...

could lead to more local pollution sources. If large portions of sea ice disappear, more pollution and stronger climate effects are predicted because of the increase in shipping and Arctic oil drilling

Oil well

An oil well is a general term for any boring through the earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.-History:The earliest...

. Teshekpuk Lake

Teshekpuk Lake

Teshekpuk Lake is a -wide lake on the Arctic coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, South of Pitt Point, East of Harrison Bay, East of Point Barrow.- Etymology :...

or the Utukok Highlands, for example, could be prime oil field

Oil field

An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...

s, considering parts of the Arctic Refuge are already in debate for drilling. The lake and its wetlands are prime breeding ground for peregrine

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

s, gyrfalcon

Gyrfalcon

The Gyrfalcon — Falco rusticolus — is the largest of the falcon species. The Gyrfalcon breeds on Arctic coasts and the islands of North America, Europe, and Asia. It is mainly resident there also, but some Gyrfalcons disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter.Individual vagrancy...

s, rough-legged hawks, and for the 490,000 animals of the western Arctic caribou herd. Also, because of global warming, the Arctic refuge is seeing more rainfall with a freeze afterward. These issues are putting the animals and the environment at serious risk.

History of Arctic haze

Origin of pollutants

Recent studies

Well-known researchers

What is to come

External links

See also