Essay Sample on Atmospheric Air Pollution: Global Hazard, Respiratory Illness, Mortality

Atmospheric air pollution ranks as one of the global environmental hazards. In the recent past, the effect of air pollution has been astounding around the globe. It has led to respiratory disorders and increased mortality rates of millions of men and women around the earth. Some of the air pollutants around the globe include solid fuels from households and delicate particulate matter. Another aerosol that causes pollution is narcotic smoke and NO2. The effects of atmospheric air pollution do not just end locally. They spread across other continents such as North America and ends in seas, lakes, and other water bodies and land.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Countries such as South Korea, Japan, and China experience dust storms during the spring. Dust particles moving through North America from the Pacific came from East Asia. The trans-Pacific dust in March of 2015 determined the transportation of the dust plumes from Aleutian's low-pressure system to the Western part of North America (Guo et al., 2017). These aerosols came from the Deserts of Gobi and Taklimakan and changed into pollutants. Polluted particles were located from low to high altitudes towards the Pacific Ocean. These dust particles then moved from lower troposphere through westerly jet streams.

The effects of dust particles are tremendous towards the environment and human health. The dust aerosols in the atmosphere affect rainfall patterns and hydrological cycle. Various methods are used to investigate the transportation of dust particles; Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization, Cloud-Aerosol Lidar, and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation. Mid-latitude westerly wind discovered to carry the dust to North America from China across the Pacific Ocean.

Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation have been used together with aerosol transport instruments for analysis of trans-Pacific dust transportation. The findings showed that high wind with a more upper planetary boundary layer happened during the spring season in Northern China. This is what led to the accumulation of dust particles in the free troposphere. Other instruments used included the following: Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument. CALIPSO is the only instrument that can determine the aerosols in a clear sky and under the cloud layer.

Sand dust particles evolved from the higher concentration of particulate matter and other weather phenomena such as blowing dust, dust storms, and floating dust. This tried to give light on the SDS episode over a period. This also showed how anthropogenic aerosols and dust particles affected other regions. Besides, Aleutian cyclonic dust plumes transportation was facilitated by Aleutian cyclonic circulation above the Northern Pacific Ocean to Alaska. CALIOP and CALISOP were used to measure the dust plumes that occurred in Taklimakan and Gobi desert.

Conclusion

This paper has talked about cross-continental pollution and has focused on atmospheric air pollution. Air pollution has global effects on both the environment ecosystem and human beings. The health effects of air pollution have also been highlighted, such as respiratory disorders. Furthermore, various air pollutants were mentioned, such as smoke and dust particles. A more substantial part of the paper has discussed the trans-Pacific dust transportation, its origin, and its impact on the surrounding regions. The article has also presented various instruments, which have been used to measure dust particles and sand dust storms. Something about dust plumes was considered too.

References

Guo, J., Lou, M., Miao, Y., Wang, Y., Zeng, Z., Liu, H., ... & Zhai, P. (2017). Trans-Pacific transport of dust aerosols from East Asia: Insights gained from multiple observations and modeling. Environmental Pollution, 230, 1030-1039.