The Southern Ocean is renowned for having the cleanest air on Earth.
There are fewer people down there using industrial chemicals and burning fossil fuels.
But there are natural sources of fine particles too, suspended in air are known as “aerosols” such as salt from sea spray or dust whipped up by the wind which will pollute the air
Recent research discovered clouds and rain play a crucial role in scrubbing the atmosphere clean
Aerosol levels over the Southern Ocean are influenced by a range of factors.
These include the amount of salt spray and seasonal variation in the growth of tiny plant-like organisms called phytoplankton, which are a source of airborne sulphate particles.
Fewer sulphates are produced during winter, which is when the air over the Southern Ocean is most pristine.
The Southern Ocean is also the cloudiest place on Earth. It experiences short-lived, sporadic showers like nowhere else.
These clouds generate not only sporadic but also intense rain showers, which seem to “wash” the aerosol particles out of the air.
Thus making the air more clean in the southern sphere
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