Iodine in desert dust destroys ozone layer: Study
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Image Credit: S. McMurtrey / CC BY-SA 4.0.
According to a study, when winds loft fine desert dust high into the atmosphere, iodine in that dust can trigger chemical reactions that destroy some air pollution, but also let greenhouse gases stick around longer. "Iodine, the same chemical added as a nutrient to table salt, is eating up ozone in dusty air high in the atmosphere," said Rainer Volkamer, a CIRES Fellow and professor of chemistry at CU Boulder.
