New York University researchers found a new mechanism self-cleaning in marine atmosphere. At first, the discovery is important because it is essential in the removal of polluting gases, in addition to being able to regulate greenhouse gases and methane.
This novelty was possible after observations made by aircraft and at sea level, which helped scientists to confirm the presence of nitrous oxide (HONO), which is formed by what is called “renoxification”. In this sense, nitrate aerosols revert to nitrogen oxides and HNO2.
In practice, this new found process could increase the self-cleaning capacity of the atmosphere on a global scale. The information was published in Sciences Advances and may be of great help in dissolving the uncertainties that exist about how important renoxification is. Professor Lucy Carpenter is the lead author of the project and commented:
It is important to point out that the observations showed that the renoxification efficiency increased with relative humidity and decreased with nitrate concentration. This observation reconciled the large discrepancies in renoxification rates found in various laboratory and field studies. It was also consistent with renoxification occurring on the surface of aerosols rather than their volume, an exciting new finding with implications for how this fundamental process is controlled and parameterized in models.
In general, the recycling of these nitrogen compounds still needs to be studied for a longer time by the scientific community. After all, it is necessary to understand what are its implications beyond the effect on other atmospheric oxidants, as in the case of ozone at the troposphere level.
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