A study by an international team of researchers, including Brazilian scientists, shows that urban pollution from Manaus, the capital of Amazonas State in Brazil, increases the formation of aerosols via the Amazon Rainforest far more than expected.
A study by an international team of researchers, including Brazilian scientists, shows that urban pollution from Manaus, the capital of Amazonas State in Brazil, increases the formation of aerosols via the Amazon Rainforest far more than expected.
According to an article on the study published in Nature Communications, urban pollution results in an average increase of 200% in the formation of secondary organic aerosols, with spikes of up to 400%. FAPESP supported the study as part of the Green Ocean Amazon Experiment (GOAmazon) and a Thematic Project linked to the Research Program on Global Climate Change (RPGCC).
This sharp increase in aerosols produced by the forest has a significant impact on key drivers of global climate change, such as radioactive balance, production of clouds and rain, and the rate of plant photosynthesis. Where urban pollution does not affect the forest, organic aerosols are produced by soil in the region, but in far smaller quantities, according to the study.
Read more at São Paulo Research Foundation
