The chemical signature of water vapor emitted by combustion sources such as vehicles and furnaces has been found in the smoggy winter inversions that often choke Salt Lake City. The discovery may give researchers a new tool to track down the sources of pollutants and climate-changing carbon dioxide gas.
University of Utah scientists measured ratios of rare and common isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen in water, and estimated that water vapor from burning fossil fuels makes up as much as 13 percent of the water vapor in smog during Salt Lake’s winter inversions, with the percentage starting smaller and increasing as the inversion persists. Read more
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