Elise Mahon wrote on The Well about how researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill are studying how pollution you can’t see affects human health and the Earth.
Using data collected in the Galápagos Islands, researchers from the UNC Center for Galápagos Studies are searching beneath the surface and examining the connection between the ocean and climate change. Adrian Marchetti and William Vizuete hope to predict the varying levels of emissions that occur by measuring different populations of plankton, which are affected in makeup and growth by warming of the oceans as a result of climate change. Bok Haeng Baek, a former UNC Institute for the Environment researcher, joined Marchetti and Vizuete by translating the data through an air quality model to help visualize the global reach of these microorganisms. Understanding the ocean’s aerosol contribution can help scientists address the threats it could pose to individuals and the planet at large. These researchers are in the process of finding the proper funding to continue their project and learn more about the link between the ocean and climate change.
To read more about the research, go to https://thewell.unc.edu/2021/03/08/out-of-sight-out-of-mind/