He and a number of other researchers had been following it through satellite data since it rose out of the Gobi Desert a few days earlier. Their feat typifies how, for the first time, scientists are proving that pollution from one continent can affect air quality on another. Riding a channel of air that forms under specific atmospheric conditions, Asian pollution can cross the Pacific Ocean in four to 10 days, adding to local pollution, says Dan Jaffe of the University of Washington at Bothell. Giving an overview of the research at a press conference, Jaffe noted that Asian pollution occasionally has significant impact in North America. Jaffe added that even low levels of intercontinental contamination can enhance pollution from local sources.
Asian pollution comes from many different sources.
Some is desert dust. Some is industrial. Some is from pesticides. They found contamination from the burning of fuels, for example. Furthermore, extensive research into prevailing meteorological conditions show the pollution came from Asia, Jaffe says.