Asian brown cloud

Asian brown cloud

The Asian brown cloud is a layer of air pollution that covers parts of the northern Indian Ocean, India, Pakistan, and parts of South Asia, Southwest Asia, and China. [cite journal
last=Srinivasan
first=J
title=Asian Brown Cloud – fact and fantasy|journal=Current Science
volume=83|issue=5
url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/sep102002/586.pdf
year=2002|month=September|day=10|pages=586–592
] [cite journal
last=Ramanathan
first=Veerabhadran
title=Indian Ocean experiment: An integrated analysis of the climate forcing and effects of the great Indo-Asian haze
journal=Journal of Geophysical Research
volume=106|issue=D22
url=http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2001/2001JD900133.shtml
year=2001|pages=28371–28398
doi=10.1029/2001JD900133
] Viewed from satellite photos, the Cloud appears as a giant brown stain hanging in the air over much of Asia and the Indian Ocean.

Causes

In some humidity conditions, it forms haze. It is created by a range of airborne particles and pollutants (e.g. woodfires, cars, and factories), characteristic of biomass burning and industrial emissions due to incomplete burning. [cite journal|last=Taylor|first=David|title=The ABCs of Haze|journal=Environmental Health Perspectives|volume=111|issue=1|url=http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2003/111-1/forum.html#thea|year=2003|month=January|day=1|pages=A20] The cloud is associated with winter monsoon (December to April) during which there is no rain to wash pollution from the air.

This pollution layer was observed during the Indian Ocean Experiment (INODEX) intensive field observation in 1999. Subsequently the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has been supporting a project called ABC (still ongoing in 2007).

Although aerosol particles are generally associated with a global cooling effect, recent studies have shown that they can actually have a global warming effect in certain regions such as the Himalayas. [cite journal
last=Ramanathan
first=Veerabhadran
title=Warming trends in Asia amplified by brown cloud solar absorption
journal=Nature|volume=448
doi= 10.1038/nature06019
year=2007|month=August|day=2|pages=575–578
] The warming effect of the Asian Brown Cloud may be an important factor in the retreat of the Himalayan glaciers. The United Nations Environment Program is worried that Asian glacial melting could lead to water shortages and floods for the hundreds of millions of people who live downstream.

A recent CSIRO study found that the Asian Brown Cloud is also affecting rainfall in Australia. [cite journal|last=Rotstayn|first=Leon|title=Have Australian rainfall and cloudiness increased due to the remote effects of Asian anthropogenic aerosols?|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|volume=112|issue=D09202|url=http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007/2006JD007712.shtml|year=2007|month=May|day=2|doi=10.1029/2006JD007712|pages=D09202]

References

See also

*ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution

External links

* [http://www.patriotfiles.com/ History]
* [http://www.rrcap.unep.org/issues/air/impactstudy/index.cfm UNEP Impact Study of the "Asian Brown Cloud"]
* [http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/brown_cloud.html NASA Eyes Effects of a Giant 'Brown Cloud' Worldwide]
* [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/south/08/12/asia.haze/ 'Asian Brown Cloud' poses global threat]
* [http://www-abc-asia.ucsd.edu/ABCProposal-Nov282001.pdf Project Proposal Project Asian Brown Cloud]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Asian brown cloud — noun air pollution caused by wood fires, industrial activity, vehicle exhausts, etc., which hangs over a large part of South Asia and the Indian Ocean; thought to intensify global warming and to affect climate in South Asia and tropical Australia …  

  • brown cloud — n. a visible pall of air pollutants that persists over a city or other area the Asian brown cloud throughout the day, air shifts in the valley cause variances in the brown cloud …   Useful english dictionary

  • Asian Dust — Yellow Dust Dust clouds leaving mainland China and traveling toward Korea and Japan. Chinese name Traditional Chinese …   Wikipedia

  • Cloud County, Kansas — Location in the state of Kansas …   Wikipedia

  • Cloud ear fungus — Scientific classification Kingdom: Fungi …   Wikipedia

  • Brown County, Minnesota — Location in the state of Minnesota …   Wikipedia

  • Brown rat — Rattus norvegicus redirects here. For the album, see Rattus Norvegicus (album). Brown rat Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • arts, East Asian — Introduction       music and visual and performing arts of China, Korea, and Japan. The literatures of these countries are covered in the articles Chinese literature, Korean literature, and Japanese literature.       Some studies of East Asia… …   Universalium

  • South Asian arts — Literary, performing, and visual arts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Myths of the popular gods, Vishnu and Shiva, in the Puranas (ancient tales) and the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics, supply material for representational and… …   Universalium

  • Southeast Asian arts — Literary, performing, and visual arts of Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. The classical literatures of Southeast Asia can be divided into three major regions: the Sanskrit region of… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”