The Earth’s climate is changing, and the Air pollution station the driving forces are changes occurring in the composition of the planet’s atmosphere. At Tasmania’s Kennaook/Cape Grim site, the Bureau of Meteorology operates a scientific observatory to measure the composition of some of the world’s cleanest air.

The station is on Tasmania’s west coast, near the north-west tip — the location chosen because, when conditions are right, the air at Kennaook/Cape Grim has been transported from the vast Southern Ocean, by way of the westerly winds frequently encountered.

This air is representative of the “global” atmosphere, unaffected by local pollution. The science program at Kennaook/Cape Grim is a collaboration between the bureau and CSIRO, with contributions from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), the University of Wollongong and other groups from around the world.

The science program manages a team that chronicles the changing composition of the Earth’s atmosphere to inform Australia and the world about the basic drivers of the changing climate.

Scientists from around the world use data to understand the life cycle and impacts of various parts of the atmosphere, and how their influence changes over time. The data also enables scientists to calculate emissions of harmful substances nationally and globally.
Kennaook/Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station and the related science program are guided by the World Meteorological Organization’s Global Atmosphere Watch program.

Elements of atmospheric composition are measured at several sites around the world. Few of these, and none in the southern hemisphere, do this as comprehensively as at Kennaook/Cape Grim. Data from this station is stored in the world data centres coordinated by the Global Atmosphere Watch program

Ozone in Earth’s stratosphere protects our planet from some of the Sun’s harshest radiation. Air quality monitoring of the doggo kind(GIPHY)
Ozone-depleting substances are chemicals that destroy the ozone in the stratosphere. These gases are responsible for the hole in the ozone layer. Many of these are also potent greenhouse gases.

Concerns about the impact of these chemicals led to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer in 1985. This was followed by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete Ozone in 1987.

The Montreal Protocol sought to curb production and called for ongoing monitoring of these chemicals in the atmosphere. Measurements from Kennaook/Cape Grim allow Australia to meet some of these monitoring requirements.

The science team at the station routinely measures all the significant ozone-depleting substances. This is possible through a collaboration with the international Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experimental (AGAGE) network

Source: This news is originally published by abc

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