Science On A Sphere: Aerosols in the Air

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By ScienceAdviser. 

Excerpt: NASA satellites and computers have provided us with these mesmerizing swirls that cover our planet—but this isn’t star stuff. Each color represents a different aerosol that was floating in the atmosphere above our heads from 1 August to 14 September 2024. Sea salt from surf breaks...is represented in blue. The spirals in the Atlantic and off the coast of Japan show the salt particles from Hurricane Ernesto and Typhoon Ampil, respectively. Desert dust is depicted in purple, showing how particulates from the Sahara travel across the Atlantic, reaching as far as Florida and Texas. ...Smoke from agricultural burning and wildfires are shown as the reddish orange swirls on the globe. Both South America and Canada experienced intense fires in 2024.... Sulfates from pollution and volcanoes appear as the green clouds that cover almost every inch of the planet. ...The rest comes from the fossil fuels burned for energy. ...“What happens in one region—whether natural events or human activities—can affect weather patterns and air quality thousands of miles away,” NASA writes in a statement. All these tiny particles in the air also help keep the planet cool by reflecting light into space and increasing the number of droplets in clouds. Though it might seem like a good thing to have fewer granules in the sky, their loss could be one of the reasons behind soaring temperatures. “We’ve seen a recent acceleration in the rate of warming,” atmospheric scientist Sarah Doherty told Science News.... 

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