Intercontinental Transport of Air Pollution (eBook)

Transboundary transport of air pollution has been a topic of scientific research for several decades and has also been addressed already by environmental policies. However, the importance of air pollution transport on the largest - intercontinental - scales, has been recognized only recently. It was soon found that the meteorological and chemical processes involved in intercontinental pollution transport are distinctly different from those occurring during regional-scale transport, and thus new scientific methodologies are required for their study. In this book, leading scientists review the current state of knowledge in this emerging field of research, providing the reader with a process understanding of global-scale transport and its influence on the atmosphere's chemical composition. Long-range transport of anthropogenic pollution is contrasted with that of pollution produced by natural processes such as dust storms or forest fires. Furthermore, the prospects for international management of intercontinental transport of anthropogenic pollution are discussed.