Emissions reductions that increase global warming

2001/06/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ingurumena

According to a study by the University of California at Irvine, the emitted nitrogen oxides contribute to reducing the impact of other substances on the air. In fact, although in the short term they produce greenhouse effect, in the long term they participate in reactions that break down methane and ozone (greenhouse gases) from the lower layers of the atmosphere, contributing to the cooling of the atmosphere. Thus, maintaining carbon monoxide levels and reducing only the emission of nitrogen oxides would increase global warming. However, this does not mean that we have to continue emitting nitrogen oxides; if we want to avoid warming the Earth it is necessary to reduce the emission of all pollutants and not only some.

Emissions of nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere are nitrous oxide (N2O), nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Nitric oxide participates in reactions that break down ozone; supersonic planes, such as Concorde, emit the stratosphere. Moreover, most of the N2O is of natural origin, as it is produced by soil microorganisms in ammonia. However, it is a greenhouse gas that when reaching the stratosphere reacts with free oxygen by action of the ultraviolet ray forming NO. Finally, most atmospheric NO2 is anthropogenic and is mainly formed in high-pressure combustion reactions.