Visitors to NOAA’s Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, may notice a toy bear perched high on a shelf in the hallway.
Visitors to NOAA’s Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, may notice a toy bear perched high on a shelf in the hallway. That small, stuffed bear wearing a gas mask and kerchief tells a story about one of NOAA’s research achievements in air quality.
In the 1990s, the Great Smoky Mountains had a major problem. Air pollution caused by high levels of nitrogen and sulfur was creating an unhealthy situation. Air quality was so bad that the region’s popular National Park was sometimes closed to visitors.
“People have always loved to visit and look out over the vistas,” says LaToya Myles, Deputy Director of NOAA’s Air Resources Lab. “On a good clear day you can see for miles and miles and miles. A lot of visitors would come expecting great views but they ended up not being able to see anything. There was just this thick haze of ozone.”
Read more at: NOAA
Photo Credit: laraethornton via Pixabay
