Support for the Carnegie Institution for Science (US) research project on preserving the atmosphere 

The Air Liquide is supporting the Carnegie Institution for Science, an American research organization in its work on evaluating ammonia exchanges between ecosystems and the atmosphere.

This study will make it possible to substantially refine certain components of climate models given that ammonia plays a role as a marker of different atmospheric phenomena. This molecule intervenes on three levels, likely to lead to new developments in climate models:

• In atmospheric chemistry due to its basic character;
• In the formation of stratospheric aerosols, which indirectly influence climate change;
• In plant metabolism, itself connected to fixing atmospheric CO2.

The measurements will be taken by an infrared laser spectrometer specifically designed for the project by the Department of Global Ecology, based in Stanford, California.

The Carnegie Institution for Science is a private not-for-profit research organization founded in 1920 by the American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Its purpose is to conduct research projects in a variety of scientific disciplines, including biology, earth science, the atmosphere and astrophysics. It has over 450 employees, divided among six research departments. Since its creation, three Carnegie researchers have been awarded a Nobel Prize.

Read the press release, 1st December 2010