The Dartmouth study found that air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels has reached the Arctic in large quantities and is changing the composition of the atmosphere. These findings, published in Nature Geoscience, show that industrial pollution has affected the most remote areas of the world. The researchers made the discovery by analyzing glaciers from Alaska and Greenland, where they observed a reduction in methanesulfonic acid (MSA), a product of the activity of marine phytoplankton.
The decline in MSA has paralleled increases in air pollution since the mid-1800s. MSA is an important target for studying plant productivity and marine ecosystem health. At first, scientists thought that the decline in MSA was a sign of a decline in phytoplankton populations. However, the team found that fossil fuel emissions cause atmospheric reactions that prevent MSA from forming, even though phytoplankton levels remain stable. This pollution causes dimethyl sulfide, a molecule produced by phytoplankton, to convert to sulfate instead of MSA. The study also found that the decline of the MSA in the Greenland ice sheets started with the Industrial Revolution in Europe and North America, while the decline of Alaska, about a hundred years later, it coincided with the great industrialization of the East.
The results show the magnitude of global fossil fuel emissions and their potential to disrupt wind operations thousands of kilometers from the source. However, this study is also good news. Data show that MSA levels began to rise in the 1990s after air pollution regulations were implemented in Europe and the United States. This suggests that air policy can reverse some of the negative effects of air pollution. Lead researcher Erich Osterberg said the findings show the power of laws to reduce pollution and hope that human activities can reduce environmental damage.