by Jeff McMahan
Graph (click here)
Nitrous oxide (N2O) gas (click here) should not be confused with nitric oxide (NO) or nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Neither nitric oxide nor nitrogen dioxide are greenhouse gases, although they are important in the process of creation of tropospheric ozone which is a greenhouse gas. There are several sources of nitrous oxide, both natural and anthropogenic (human), to the atmosphere with many of these sources difficult to measure. Because of this, there is general agreement that the atmospheric sources and sinks of nitrous oxide are difficult to bring into balance. Figure 10 shows the global biogeochemical of nitrous oxide involving transfers between Earth’s surface and atmosphere....
Air pollution in some cities is less than half what it was a year ago, according to new data from the satellite that has been documenting the impact of the coronavirus lockdown on air pollution across the world.
Paris has seen nitrogen dioxide drop by 54 percent, while Madrid, Milan and Rome saw a drop of nearly 50%, according to scientists from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, who have been monitoring air pollution over Europe using data from the Tropomi instrument aboard the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite....
...The scientists adjusted the data across a 15-day average to compensate for weather changes that can also influence NO2 levels in the atmosphere. They also claim a hefty 15 percent margin of error.
Nitrogen dioxide is a noxious gas that has been linked to respiratory problems and other health conditions. It also reacts with other chemicals in the atmosphere to form fine particulate pollution, which health agencies have identified as the leading cause of the world’s 7 million annual deaths from air pollution.
NO2 comes from the combustion of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants and factories. The European scientists monitor it as a bellwether for other pollutants that derive from the same sources, including greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change....
