Times of India , Thursday, April 10, 2008

Correspondent : Staff Reporter

WASHINGTON: When salty air and sunshine around busy ports mingle with industrial and shipping pollution, they aggravate the problem manifold, according to a study. Emissions from marine vessels may be polluting the globe to a greater extent than hitherto suspected. The disturbing phenomenon substantially raises the levels of ground-level ozone and other pollutants in coastal areas. "This is a problem everywhere industrial pollution meets the ocean, as is the case in many of the largest cities around the world," said Hans Osthoff of university of Calgary. "Our study indicates that halide salts such as chloride or bromide, (associated with air around the ports) which have been thought of as being relatively inert, may be playing a much greater role overall in the lower atmosphere," he added. These findings have been published in online edition of Nature Geoscience.

SOURCE : Times of India, Thursday, 10 April 2008