26 posts tagged NASA When ships cross bodies of water, they
leave behind visible “tracks” of pollution. NASA has been using
satellite imagery to collect data on ship tracks, and the
results are mildly disturbing. The image above shows only
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions, and is a composite of data
collected by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA’s Aura
satellite from 2005 through 2012. Nitrogen dioxide causes
respiratory problems in humans in addition to creating ground-
level ozone and fine particle pollution, and scientists are
collecting data to see just how much shipping contributes to
global NOx emissions. Right now, estimates are that shipping is
responsible for between 15 and 30 percent, with the rest coming
from sources as diverse as agricultural burning, oil drilling
and even lightning. In the image above, ship tracks can be seen
in dark red. They’re concentrated around the most heavily
trafficked and congested shipping routes, with the most
prominent in the Indian Ocean between Singapore and Sr