A group of scientists from Monash University in Australia has identified the place with the cleanest air on Earth. It is the airspace above the Southern Ocean, surrounding Antarctica.
The research, published in the scientific journal CAS, revealed that the purity of the air over Antarctica is not only due to the absence of human activity but also the activity of phytoplankton.
According to the authors of the study, the Southern Ocean is the cloudiest region on our planet, which often results in significant precipitation. Heavy rainfall and snow effectively cleanse the atmosphere of pollutants.
Additionally, the cloud cover over Antarctica has a specific cellular structure, where each cell can produce six times more precipitation compared to clouds in other regions.
Scientists compared the effect of precipitation on the air to a cleansing process similar to how a washing machine cleans clothes during a wash cycle. After the passage of a cold front, the air becomes exceptionally clean.
Researchers believe that this discovery will help better understand how precipitation can remove dust and other pollutants from the atmosphere.
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