Scientists claim to have found cleanest air on Earth

New Delhi : The scientists have claimed that they have found the cleanest air on Earth that is not altered with the human activities on the ground and ocean. Located over the Southern Ocean, the area surrounds Antarctica.

In a first-of-its-kind study of the bioaerosol composition of the Southern Ocean, researchers from Colorado State University identified an atmospheric region which remains unchanged by human activity.

Weather and climate are closely linked and mostly get affected with the activities of humans on the planet. Since many years, scientists had been struggling in locating a corner on the earth where there is no effect of the human activities.

However, professor Sonia Kreidenweis and her team suspected that the air over the Southern Ocean would be least affected by humans and dust from the world's continents.

Researchers found that the boundary layer air, which feeds the lower clouds over the Southern Ocean, was free from aerosol particles produced by human activity - including burning fossil fuels, planting certain crops, fertilizer production, and wastewater disposal - or transported from other countries around the world.

Air pollution is caused by aerosols, which are solid and liquid particles and gases that are suspended in the air.

Research scientist and co-author of the study Thomas Hill explained that "the aerosols controlling the properties of SO (Southern Ocean) clouds are strongly linked to ocean biological processes, and that Antarctica appears to be isolated from southward dispersal of microorganisms and nutrient deposition from southern continents," he said in a statement.

"Overall, it suggests that the SO is one of very few places on Earth that has been minimally affected by anthropogenic activities," he added.