Major air pollution episode underway

[n2doc]

Major air pollution episode underway
Posted by: JeffMasters, 10:48 AM EDT on August 08, 2007
The Tropical Atlantic is exceptionally quiet, with very little thunderstorm activity anywhere. There are no threat areas to discuss, and none of the reliable models are forecasting development of a tropical storm over the next seven days.

What may be the most deadly weather event to affect the U.S. this year is underway across large portions of the central and eastern U.S. A large area of high pressure with light winds has settled over the region, bringing unhealthful levels of ozone and fine particulate matter to many major cities. High pressure systems are regions where the air gradually sinks, warming as it approaches the surface. This warming, sinking air creates a layer of air aloft (typically near 3000 feet in altitude) that is warmer than the air beneath it. This "upper air inversion" acts as a lid on the atmosphere, keeping pollutants trapped near the surface. Updrafts carrying surface air into the inversion suddenly encounter air that is warmer and less dense, so the updraft dies and the pollutants that they were trying to carry aloft settle back down towards the surface. If the high pressure region is large, an extensive area of light winds at the surface will exist, keeping the pollutants trapped under the inversion from being blown away horizontally. If the high pressure system stays in place for several days, pollutants will accumulate day by day, reaching levels harmful to human health and triggering a sharp rise in the death rate. "Particulate matter," also known as particle pollution or PM, is the pollutant that causes the largest rise in the death rate. Particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM 2.5) is particularly harmful to the lungs. A double-whammy dose of ozone pollution is also occurring this week, since temperatures are warm enough to drive the chemical reactions that form ozone.


Figure 1. Current wind speeds over the Southeast U.S.




Figure 2. Current visibility over the Southeast U.S.



Figure 3. Satellite image from NASA's Aqua satellite on Saturday, August 4, shows a large area of pollution over the Central and Southeast U.S. Forest fires burning in Montana and Idaho (bottom image) are visible, but smoke from these fires is being wafted northeastward into Canada.

On Tuesday, levels of fine particulate matter pollution exceeded the federal air quality standard of 35 ug/M3 over PA, NJ, MD, CT, DE, OH, SC, TN, GA and AL. The pollution episode is expected to be at its worst Wednesday in Georgia and North Carolinas; air pollution action days have been declared in major cites in those states, as well as St. Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Knoxville, and Wilmington. The air pollution episode should continue into Thursday, then ease on Friday when rains, higher winds, and more mixing of pollutants is expected.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=740&tstamp=200708

[Double T]

1. The pollution from India and China is destroying our environment......

around the world. corporate america and wall street are supporting ALL of this pollution.

http://www.physorg.com/news92397166.html

[phantom power]

2. China and India gave us exactly what we wanted.

an endless supply of bargain-priced products, manufactured where none of us had to think about the labor conditions or total lack of environmental regulations that made it possible. And people like me could read happy happy stories in Wired Magazine about how China was going to leapfrog us into a high-productivity environmentally clean utopia.

Not that I'm bitter.

[kestrel91316]

5. The US is destroying its own environment. Where do you think the

demand for Chinese manufactured goods comes from? Tuvalu?

[Double T]

6. As I said, "wall street and corporate america are supporting ALL of this pollution."

[ramapo]

8. We've done pretty good on our own

After all, we've been the pollution pioneers.

The tragedy is that we could've pioneered technology and methodology to at least limit, if not nearly eliminate, much waste and pollution. The United States could've been a world leader but instead the rest of the world have copied the worst that we had to offer. There was once an opportunity to avoid this oncoming disaster but I fear that time has passed.

[Double T]

9. It is already too late. If the world population had held steady in the 1920's..........

at approximately 2 billion, the earth might have been able to survive our occupation; now with 6.5 billion occupiers it is only a relatively short time before mass extinctions will occur.

[NotGivingUp]

3. that's just great. n/t

[ramapo]

4. Putrid Air

We've had it on more than a few days this summer here in NJ.

Today is pretty bad although there are no warnings posted as there were last week.

[razzleberry]

7. where are the wind power advocates, when we need them?

no wind when we need it