From Leibniz-Institut für Troposphärenforschung something that could be a possible negative feedback to CO2. As plants proliferate more due to increased CO2, it follows that pollen load in the atmosphere would also increase.
Laser measurements show: pollen has considerable influence on air quality
Leipzig, Germany. Pollen reflects more sunlight than previously known, and makes up to one third of the total amount of aerosol particles in the atmosphere. Aerosol particles influence optical depth which provides a measure of the opacity of the atmosphere. These results, reported by scientists of the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in Korea and the Leibniz-Institute of Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), are published in the research journal Atmospheric Environment. This study is the first to investigate the optical properties of natural pollen with a laser operating at 532-nm emission wavelength.
Pollen spreads in the air and is considered to be one of the main causes of allergies – and its impact on human health may increase due to climate change. For that reason, there is great interest in the research of pollen and its spread and distribution in the atmosphere. In addition, pollen is a considerable natural source of pollution in the atmosphere where it scatters sunlight – so-called corona effects have been known about for a long time.
Due to the extremely short measurement times in the near field of the laser, it is difficult to measure close to the ground where pollen is usually found. Furthermore, specific measurements are needed to separate man-made air pollution from natural sources of pollution such as pollen. The first person to use lasers from the ground to investigate pollen is Prof. Kenneth Sassen of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, USA. He collected pollen emissions data over Alaskan forests in 2008.
The results presented in this new study are the first investigations of this kind outside of North America. By using more sophisticated laser measurement techniques, the results also measure some properties of airborne pollen. “For the first time different optical properties of pollen in the air were measured. Of specific interest is the light-extinction coefficient, as this parameter allows us to determine the so-called optical depth of the atmosphere. The optical depth determines how much sunlight from space arrives on the Earth’s surface, and this measurement has a major influence on our planet’s temperature”, summarizes Dr. Young Min Noh from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST).
A polarization lidar, a tool used to observe particles in the atmosphere with a laser beam, was used by the South Korean–German research team to observe the vertical distribution of pollen in May 2009 at GIST in Gwangju (South Korea). The tool measures the difference in time between the emission of a laser pulse and receiving the back-reflected laser pulse, which allows the distance between the instrument and the reflecting object to be computed – similar to the way in which radar works. Scientists can determine physical properties of the reflecting objects by measuring the polarization changes of the back-reflected laser light. The measurements showed that pollen can be found at the highest point in the atmosphere during noontime due to air convection. Strong changes in polarization were reported during the morning at around 9 am local time at up to 500 m above the ground; at heights from 1.5 to 2 km above the ground between noon and 2 pm local time; and near the ground after 5 pm local time. These results are described by the research team in another publication that was published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics which is an open access journal of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). “In this study we report on the backscatter coefficient of pollen for the first time. We were able to determine this parameter by using the so-called lidar-depolarization technique. For this, we separated the laser light that is reflected by pollen from the reflection signal of the total atmospheric aerosols”, emphasizes Dr. Young Min Noh. “The pattern of the backscatter signals shows that pollen particles from trees are distributed in the lower part of the atmosphere of cities. This is caused through small-scale convection, air updrafts and downdrafts, and, if there are good weather conditions, high temperatures and wind speed as well as low relative humidity.”
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  IMAGE: This is the Lidar in use at the TROPOS in Leipzig. With the portable mini-Raman lidar “Polly ” a fully automatic system has been developed here, allowing the daily aerosol observations…
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The month of May is the main pollen season in Korea. Simultaneous with the laser measurements, the scientists also collected pollen with pollen traps so that measurements at the ground could be compared to the data taken in the atmosphere. The Sun’s irradiation was measured with a photometer. From the results the researchers concluded that pollen can be a significant natural source of aerosol particles during times of strong pollen emissions. “We assume that the strong pollen emissions in densely wooded areas of the Northern Hemisphere, such as Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and Siberia, may significantly influence the optical properties of the atmosphere, particularly at the start of the growing period in spring. Although our observations only represent a small portion of the overall large-scale effects, they nevertheless highlight the importance of pollen emissions”, Dr. Detlef Müller reports.
Dr Müller worked at TROPOS until recently and, since late 2008, has also been leading the lidar group based at GIST in South Korea. Dr. Müller brought 15 years’ experience in the development of lidar instrumentation from Leipzig to Korea and helped in developing a special instrument customized to handle the complicated air pollution within East Asia. In this region, desert dust from Central Asia mixes each spring with strongly polluted air produced by East Asian mega cities like Beijing and Seoul. For a long time, the complex mixture of different types of air pollution made it difficult to clearly separate the different sources of air pollution.
The daily pattern of the influence of pollen on the optical depth of the atmosphere, as observed by the Korean-German research team, can help to improve data of Earth observing satellites like CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol-Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) and other aerosol sensors that do not adequately take into account the influence of pollen in their data analysis algorithms. In addition, the researchers hope that these new results can improve pollen forecasting to give a better quality of life to allergy sufferers in the future.
Pollen is not the only biological source of airborne particles that raises many research questions. Novel lidar measurement methods are planned to help investigate the effects of bacteria, spores, and fungi on human health and crop yield. “Dust is known to act as carrier of bacteria. We observed an increase of the number of people being hospitalized after large dust outbreaks over South Korea, suffering from problems of the respiratory tract, eye inflammations and other strong allergic reactions. Similar conditions have been observed in other regions around the world, such as in the Sahel Zone of Africa, where cases of meningitis may have been caused by bacteria carried by dust”, explains Dr. Müller who recently joined the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. He is funded by the Royal Society through the Wolfson Research Merit Award which is given to outstanding scientists in the UK. Dr. Müller continues to develop and improve lidar technology for climate research, and also for investigating the spread of spores and fungi in agriculture in order to find new ways of reducing crops loss. It is estimated that approximately 16% of the global crop yield is lost each year due to fungal diseases.
Publications:
Y. M. Noh, D. Müller, H. L. Lee, T. J. Choi (2013): Influence of biogenic pollen on optical properties of atmospheric aerosols observed by lidar over Gwangju, South Korea, Atmospheric Environment, Volume 69, pages 139-147, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.12.018
This research was funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) and the Korea Polar Research Institute.
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Hmmm Right out of left field.
And here I thought that the entire climate science field was already a dead issue, with the only remaining subject being how to best punish America, Europe, and Can-Aus-NZ.
It is amazing what great and interesting use can be judiciously made of the latest technology to find out interesting stuff like this. We kind of take pollen for granted. I didn’t realize just how much there really is and what impact it can have.
“In addition, pollen is a considerable natural source of pollution in the atmosphere…”
Then shouldn’t the EPA pass laws to minimize pollen pollution as it did with CO2? …Oh…that’s right, CO2 is not natural. \sarc
Following recent EPA endangerment finding on pine tree pollen, CARB introduce new regs to call and end to DIRTY pollen.
Massive tree kull to begin in January.
Prominent climatology professor and Nobel prize winner M.E. Mann has promised find at least one or two trees and invert the data as required to up date his famous hockey stick climatology.
So, does the pollen also act as a condensation nuclei and therefore cause more clouds/albedo? What other negative feedbacks?
I think a more interesting correlation to look at might be how measured pollen levels track with solar activity.
“Laser measurements show: pollen has considerable influence on air quality”
Anyone with respiratory allergies could have told you that. This is just another dispatch from the office of Captain Obvious.
Some years back I recall a person proposed that plants are a natural negative feedback to anything that threatens their growth. It wasn’t that plants were intelligent and said to each other, “I say old chap, the sunlight seems a tad thin today, what do you say to you and I going out and altering the atmosphere a tad before teatime?” Rather it was by accident that those plants that produced emissions that bettered their chance of survival were the ones that survived.
The subject under discussion, as I recall, was trace amounts of bromine swept right up to the stratosphere by giant ocean storms, and the fact the bromine (and iodine as well) was reducing the levels of ozone slightly. The source of the bromine in the swept-up sea-spray was plankton of some sort, and that plankton also happened to benefit from the changes in sunlight caused by lessened levels of ozone. It was only natural that some fellow would suggest the plankton was “doing it on purpose,” and also it was only natural that the fellow got laughed at and called a fruitcake.
However it does make me think. Maples drop leaves that make the soil basic while pines drop needles that make soil acidic, as each tries to create an environment conducive to the growth of their seedlings. It doesn’t require brains or theory; they just alter their environment. And if they can alter the soil, why not the air?
OK, I said it. Now you can say it: Yes, I’m a fruitcake.
pollen is such a small thing. it cannot have any effect. its the sun stupid. the sun is big. big things matter. small things and trace gases dont matter. sheesh. and sun spots, they look small but they are big too. Its the big sun. the science is settled.
/sarc off
In addition, pollen is a considerable natural source of pollution
natural pollution
natural pollution
natural pollution
If you say it enough times in a row, does it stop being an oxymoron?
The same phobic anti-logic is being used to demonize the dreaded PM-2.5.
The very interesting image illustrating this article is a perfect example of the Narrative Fallacy and a thousand words of nonsense. Somebody says the halo is caused by pollen. Really, won’t a fingerprint on the lens falsify that just-so story?
So cutting down trees in the US to put into European power plants will…..
davidmhoffer says:
December 18, 2013 at 9:53 am
“natural pollution
If you say it enough times in a row, does it stop being an oxymoron?”
Poll-ution. Poll-en. Notice the similarity? Of course it causes pollution. Pollution means covered by pollen. I think.
Steven Mosher says:
December 18, 2013 at 9:33 am
“the science is settled.”
Mosher; BEST (land only) has a far higher trend from 1980 to now than RSS (global) and HadCRUT (global) – the two of them have nearly identical trends since the last HadCRUT re-adjustment.
This implies, if BEST is correct, that land warms far faster than sea, and that as a consequence, coastal winds and storms must be becoming stronger. Do you agree?
Why do we see no evidence of this in wind speeds and storm energies?
Caleb says:
December 18, 2013 at 9:25 am
“And if they can alter the soil, why not the air?
OK, I said it. Now you can say it: Yes, I’m a fruitcake.”
Of course they alter the air; Earth’s 20% oxygen atmosphere has been created by plants. Plants co-evolved with animals to breathe each other’s exhaust.
Well, pollen collection and close study could explain why there are so many CAGW assassins.
Assassin, derived from ‘Arabic ḥashshāshīn eaters of hashish’; fanatic Nizaris, secret agents who performed sudden assassination of those they oppose.
The ḥashshāshīn were called such because they were reputed to ingest hashish prior to their raids giving them a feeling of the paradise reward they were going to receive, felt little pain and unshakeable fanaticism.
Hashish, at the time, was a collection of pollen and resin collected by runners swathed in leather who ran through the fields of cannabis sativa and then scraped the residue off of the leather. ḥashshāshīns ate the collected goo or imbibed a potion made for them.
Many of the reports about suicide killers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria indicate that this physical yet spiritual inoculation still occurs.
It would not surprise me if the next place they want to study pollen is in SE Asia or old Persia.
I remember Lord May leaning over and assuring me: “I am the President of the Royal Society, and I am telling you the debate on climate change is over.”
Roger Harrabin, BBC Environmental Correspondent.
This topic is very timely. There is (was) a full moon this morning. It amazed me how much brighter that it was than last summer. As I looked at it I wondered “Does the lack of pollutants, aerosols, and humidity in the atmosphere make the full Moon appear brighter. And if the clearness of the atmosphere has that effect on the Moons light what does it have on radiation both up and down.”
Are factors like this taken into account in the various models?
“…Pollen affects the atmosphere, lasers say so” (paraphrasing)
OK, question – does pollen reflect or absorb SW radiation? Just because light from the laser is not reflected back, I don’t think you can really determine what caused the attenuation. I know pine pollen is yellow and all pollen is irregular shaped… ???
Just some thoughts,
Jeff
Bloke down the pub says:
December 18, 2013 at 10:22 am
So cutting down trees in the US to put into European power plants will…..
________________________________________________________________________
Significantly reduce pine pollen in the area the pines are being cut. During the couple weeks the pines are pollenating. Significant air pollution from pines but, like most trees, the pollen is only present for a couple weeks or so. Around my house everything turns yellow-green.
The press release(?) mentions in passing seasonality of pollen and the loss of atmospheric pollen when it rains. Seems a little hit or miss.
AtheoK
Assassin, derived from ‘Arabic ḥashshāshīn eaters of hashish’; fanatic Nizaris, secret agents who performed sudden assassination of those they oppose.
====
Assassins (from Arabic: حشاشين Ḥashshāshīn,[1]) is a misnomer for the Nizari Ismailis applied abusively to them by the Mustali Ismailis during the fall of the decaying Ismaili Fatimid Empire when the two streams separated from each other. In 1122 the Mustalian dynasty Fatimid caliph al-Amir referred to the Nizaris separated from them and “now firmly established in Persia and Syria”, abusively as the hashishiyya “without any explanation” and “without actually accusing them of using hashish, a product of hemp“.[2]
The term hashishiyya or hashishi as used by Muslim sources is used metaphorically in its abusive sense (i.e. “irreligious social outcasts“*, “low-class rabble”, etc.). “The literal interpretation of this term in referring to the Nizaris (as hashish consuming intoxicated assassins) is rooted in the fantasies of medieval Westerners and their imaginative ignorance of Islam and the Ismailis.“[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassins
===============
The ignorance is not limited to medieval westerners at all.
Modern crusaders are equally ignorant.
There is one very important implication of this research that seems to have escaped notice – global warming makes hay fever worse!
We must curb CO2 emissions for the sake of victims of hay fever. The deniers obviously have no sympathy with the victims.
Caleb says:
December 18, 2013 at 9:25 am
“ . . . pines drop needles that make soil acidic, . . .”
Not really the topic of this post so I will simply object and say both pro and con statements are found on the web. Suggest contacting the AG schools, say the UCONN Agricultural Research Station or ones in other states.
Khwarizmi says:
December 18, 2013 at 12:31 pm
The term hashishiyya or hashishi as used by Muslim sources is used metaphorically in its abusive sense (i.e. “irreligious social outcasts“*, “low-class rabble”, etc.). “The literal interpretation of this term in referring to the Nizaris (as hashish consuming intoxicated assassins) is rooted in the fantasies of medieval Westerners and their imaginative ignorance of Islam and the Ismailis.“[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassins
===============
The ignorance is not limited to medieval westerners at all.
Modern crusaders are equally ignorant.
There aren’t any “modern crusaders.” Western policy in the Middle East has frequently been misguided, but the intentions have been good, in marked contrast to that of the leaders of many countries in that part of the world. Even the Wikipedia article that you quoted confirms that the founder of the Assassins was an evil fanatic who spent his time waging war against other Moslems and Christians. If the Assassins had taken hashish as well, that would have been the least of their crimes.
I don’t know how increasing CO2 levels would affect the growth of cannabis in the Middle East but it seems reasonable to suppose that it would increase production since plants need CO2. If that happens the industrialised West will probably get the blame for the consumption of hashish in the Arab world!
I do not want to interfere with anyone’s fun but if you suffer from pollen allergies, as bazillions do, then you watch pollen counts and you choose your place of residence to avoid pollen. Lots of people who have pollen allergies suffer from migraines. Pollen allergy sufferers treat pollen as one of the worst kinds of pollution. Maybe we should call it something other than pollution. Any suggestions?