Global Air Pollution and Intercontinental Transport
This page last reviewed July 3, 2009
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Global Air
Pollution and its Effects on California
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-- Global pollution effects
in California are most noticeable in clean air areas; high pollution days in California are due to local sources
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-- Asian pollution sources may
slow future progress toward clean air in California
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-- Large dust storms from Asia's
deserts hit California a few times a decade.
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-- Dilute amounts of dust from
Asia's deserts regularly cross the Pacific to California.
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-- Smoke from biomass burning
in southeast Asia and wildfires in Siberia can also reach California.
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-- Asia's coal smoke, vehicle
exhaust, toxics, and farm and road dust also regularly cross the Pacific
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-- Ozone from Asia's cities
adds to natural " background " ozone in clean air areas of California.
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-- Economic growth in Asia will
increase emissions and pollution impacts in California. Pollution controls may slow emission growth
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-- Climate change may facilitate
pollutant movement and ozone formation, enhancing the effects of Asian pollution in California
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View
Slides Presented at the ARB Board Meeting on 1/22/2004
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| Overview Of Global Air Pollution: |
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Severe air pollution is commonly
associated with population centers, areas of concentrated industry or other human activities, but air pollution
does not respect economic or political boundaries as it spreads downwind. Minute concentrations of air pollutants
are found all over the world. Even modest levels of industrial activity can pollute large areas of the Earth.
For example, lead emitted from metal smelting in Europe during the Greek and Roman empires deposited trace concentrations
in Greenland that have been found in ice cores.
The global spread of pollution can
be seen in Figure 1, which shows the planetary distribution of carbon monoxide produced by burning fossil fuels
or vegetation, as measured by satellite in 2000.
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Carbon monoxide is accompanied by
other combustion-related pollutants, such as smoke, soot, sulfates, and toxic materials. Present global levels
of population, urban and industrial development, and vegetation burning are causing rising concentrations of air
pollution to be spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
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| Particulate Air Polution: |
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The global atmospheric particle
load comes from a mix of natural and human sources. Dust from Earth's great deserts mixes with dust from
roads, farms, and other soil disturbance. Smoke from wildfires mixes with smoke from burning forests and
grasslands as well as coal and oil.
Global Particulate
Air pollution and its Effects on California
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| Atmospheric Ozone |
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Ozone due to manmade pollution is
the main irritant in "smog" but it is also a natural component of the atmosphere. Understanding
the effects of global pollution on local ozone exposure requires tracking ozone from both natural and manmade sources.
Global Ozone
and its Effects on Califorina
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If you have any questions or comments
about the content of the
Intercontinental Transport web pages, please contact
Tony Van Curan at (916) 327-1511.
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