Atmospheric scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have launched an effort to better understand urban air quality problems in northern cities.
During the next few years, Bill Simpson and Jingqiu Mao of UAF’s Geophysical Institute hope to join international researchers on a large-scale field study to understand the chemistry behind air pollutants in Arctic and sub-Arctic cities.
Fairbanks, Alaska, has the worst year-round air quality out of 187 U.S. cities, according to a 2018 report from the American Lung Association. The ranking is mainly due to particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns across, roughly one-thirtieth the width of a human hair. Simpson and his colleagues want to know where these tiny particles come from and how cold and dark conditions affect them.
As the seasons change and Fairbanks gets less sun, the air near the ground cools and forms a separate layer from the warmer air higher in the atmosphere. This is called an inversion.
Continue reading at University of Alaska - Fairbanks.
Image via University of Alaska - Fairbanks.