14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers in the United States have demonstrated for the first time that anthropogenic particles released into the atmosphere by Asian nations bear a significant influence on the Pacific storm track, which in turn influences global weather patterns. This research is the first of its kind and demonstrates the link based on comparisons of air pollution levels recorded between 1850 and 2000.
The team was led by scientists at the Texas A&M University and included scientists from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), the University of California in San Diego (UCSD), and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. Details of the work appear in the latest issue of the esteemed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science Blog reports.
The research group used the most detailed pollution emission dataset available, the same used by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The first scenario experts analyzed was one where pollution remained at 1850 levels, and the second where pollution reached 2000 levels. Both cloud formations and mid-latitude cyclones in the Pacific were impacted in the latter.
“There appears to be little doubt that these particles from Asia affect storms sweeping across the Pacific and subsequently the weather patterns in North America and the rest of the world. The climate model is quite clear on this point. The aerosols formed by human activities from fast-growing Asian economies do impact storm formation and global air circulation downstream,” says Renyi Zhang from Texas A&M.