Effects of fuel regulations are seen on the first worldwide map of cargo ship emissions. Another explanation for how particulate matter interacts with clouds and impacts global temperatures is provided by “ship tracks” in the clouds.
A recent study published in Science Advances examined the impact of fuel limits on cargo ship emissions using satellite data from 2003 to 2020 under the direction of UMBC’s Tianle Yuan.
The data collected by the study team showed considerable improvements in sulfur emissions following the implementation of legislation in 2015 and 2020.
Their vast data collection can also address a more significant issue: how do pollution and other particles interact with clouds to impact overall world temperatures?
Aerosols and global impact
Aerosols, tiny particles in the atmosphere that include pollutants and may be harmful to human health, frequently have a cooling impact on the globe due to their interactions with clouds.
Estimates of the size of that influence, however, vary by a factor of 10, which makes them unreliable for anything of this magnitude.
Ship tracks can help us understand how much cooling the aerosols produce, according to Yuan, an associate research scientist at the Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research (GESTAR) II Center, via ScienceDaily.
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Source: Science Daily
