Science / Medicine : Planes’ Effect on Climate Noted
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Exhaust fumes from planes flying overhead have a far greater effect on the Earth’s climate than equivalent sources on the ground, according to a new study.
Colin Johnson of Britain’s Harwell Laboratory has found that the effect on nitrogen oxides from aircraft is 30 times as great as the effect from other sources of equal magnitude on the ground.
Nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons are key ingredients in the formation of ozone in the lower atmosphere, which is highly corrosive and toxic at five to six miles above the ground--the region where commercial aircraft generally fly. The study was presented in last week’s issue of Nature.
