Gizmorama - October 30, 2013

Good Morning,

How bad is the pollution in China? The smog was so heavy it led to the cancellation of all flights at Taiping International Airport and for meteorologists to issue a pollution red alert. It's that bad!

Learn about this and other interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Study finds nitrogen from fertilizer impacts groundwater for decades --*
CALGARY, Alberta - Nitrogen fertilizer remains in soil for decades and leaks into groundwater as nitrates much longer than previously thought, Canadian and French scientists say. Researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada and the Universite Pierre et Marie Currie in Paris said their research showed that 30 years after synthetic nitrogen fertilizer had been applied to crops in 1982, about 15 per cent of the fertilizer was still in soil organic matter. In those three decades around 10 per cent of the fertilizer seeped through the soil towards the groundwater and would do so for at least for at least another 50 years, they said. Losses of nitrogen from fertilizer towards the groundwater occur at low rates but over very long time spans, Calgary geochemistry Professor Bernhard Mayer said. The findings suggest it could take longer than previously thought to reduce nitrate contamination in groundwater in aquifers supplying drinking water in North America and elsewhere, he said. "There's a lot of fertilizer nitrogen that has accumulated in agricultural soils over the last few decades which will continue to leak as nitrate towards groundwater," he said.


*- Smog leads to airport closure in Harbin, China -*
HARBIN, China - Heavy smog enveloped Harbin in northeastern China Monday, leading meteorologists to issue a red alert, the highest pollution warning possible. The second-straight day of smog led to the cancellation of all flights at Taiping International Airport, China's Xinhua News Agency reported. The pollution led to visibility of less than 164 feet in downtown Harbin, a metropolitan area of about 10.6 million people that is the capital of Heilongjiang province, the state-run news agency said. In addition to the airport closure, all elementary and middle school classes were canceled and some public buses stopped running. Meteorologists forecast the smog would continue Tuesday.

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