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Sharp Decline in Pollution from U.S. Coal Power Plants

12.01.11 - A team of scientists have used the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA's Aura satellite to confirm major reductions in the levels of a key air pollutant generated by coal power plants in the eastern United States. The pollutant, sulfur dioxide, contributes to the formation of acid rain and can cause serious health problems.

The scientists have shown that sulfur dioxide levels in the vicinity of major coal power plants have fallen by nearly half since 2005. The new findings, the first satellite observations of this type, confirm ground-based measurements of declining sulfur dioxide levels and demonstrate that scientists can potentially measure levels of harmful emissions throughout the world, even in places where ground monitoring is not extensive or does not exist. About two-thirds of sulfur dioxide pollution in American air comes from coal power plants.

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Aura in the News

Satellite Model Aura EPO takes the
A-Train to Washington!

05.07.12 - Aura exhibited the new "Engineer a Satellite" activity in Washington, DC for the 2012 Earth Day event on the National Mall and the US Science and Engineering Festival.


03.24.12 March 24, 2012 Community Event
03.21.12 Scientists lead forums at Howard Community College
10.02.11 Study of Unprecedented Arctic Ozone Loss
07.21.11 Pollution in the Great Lakes Region
07.15.11 Pollution 'Butterfly'
07.15.11 Fire's Fading Pollution Plume in Northern Canada
07.01.11 Pollution from New Mexico, Arizona Fires
06.18.11 Ash from Puyehue-Cordón Caulle
08.05.10 Increasing 'Bad' Ozone Threatens Human/Plant Health
05.05.10 Tracking Iceland Volcano Ash Plume
09.16.09 Progress of 2009 Antarctic Ozone Hole
09.01.09What's Holding Antarctic Sea Ice Back From Melting?

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Latest Science Results


  • Aura featureSatellite measurements of Sulfur Dioxide >>

  • Aura featureTES First Measurements of PAN >>

  • Aura featureMeasurements of Aerosols Above Clouds >>

  • Aura featureObservations of Nabro eruption >>

  • Aura featureA-train data for Merapi volcanic cloud >>

  • Aura featureDestruction of Mesospheric Arctic Ozone Caused by Solar Protons >>

  • Aura featureEnhancements in NO2 and SO2 over the Canadian oil sands >>

  • Aura featureThe Double Tropopause >>

  • Aura featureBrO enhancements over the North Pole >>

  • Aura featureHydroxyl radical response to the 11-year solar cycle >>

  • Aura featureOMI measurements show a decrease in SO2 amounts >>

  • Aura featureMLS observations of unprecedented 2011 arctic ozone loss >>

  • Aura featureTES evaluate moisture processes in climate models >>

  • Aura featureWhat caused unusually low arctic ozone? >>

  • Aura featureDirect observations of megacity emissions & nitrogen oxides >>


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"Our Changing Atmosphere"

Aura Brochure 2010

View the latest brochure highlighting some of the discoveries from the Aura Mission! [PDF, 55 mb]


Related Web Sites

AURA HQ Web Site Aura Validation Data Center Ozone Watch OMI Sulfur Dioxide Group OMI data Center for Astrophysics

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The World We Avoided...

The World We Avoided The year is 2065. Nearly two-thirds of Earth's ozone is gone - not just over the poles, but everywhere. Take a glimpse into the world we avoided by protecting the ozone layer . >> More