Aerosols and the greenhouse effect Aerosols are minute particles which are emitted into the atmosphere, for example, by combustion processes. These particles cause reflection of sunlight, either directly or indirectly through cloud formation, so that they have a 'negative' effect on the radiation balance and result in local cooling down. If this effect occurs on a large scale, the greenhouse effect would be partly compensated. This implies that the heating power of greenhouse gases may be even greater than currently thought. Furthermore, there is evidence that aerosols play a role in the transport of acidifying and fertilising substances and may be harmful to public health.
Aerosols are far from being fully understood.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs considers this problem area so important for the government's future environmental policy that in 1998 ECN and TNO were awarded a joint contract to map out a number of important white spots. The project duration will be four years and involves developing measurement methods and equipment, taking a large number of measurements both in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the world, and setting up appropriate computer models. With support from universities and research institutes elsewhere in Europe, North and South America and China, ECN and TNO will map out the aerosol emissions and subsequently make an analysis of their actual influence on the radiation balance. Methanol reformer Volvo, Volkswagen, Johnson Matthey and ECN are working on an electric car running on methanol. The methanol is converted to H 2 and CO 2 in a reformer.