(Exif II*
W ] ' ( 1 2 i T Manmade--or anthropogenic--aerosols account for about 10 percent of the mass of aerosols in the air. Common anthropogenic aerosols include: nitrates, sulfates, and black carbon. The transportation, power, and industrial sectors are parts of the economy that produce large amounts of anthropogenic aerosols.
Image Information: This image shows sulfates and black carbon under a powerful transmission electron microscope. Black carbon (indicated by the arrows) typically form long chain-like aggregates, and can glom on to sulfates (large dark objects) and many other particles to create complex aggregations of aerosols. Two fly ash particles, which are created by coal burning, are visible on the lower left of the image (indicated by the thicker black arrow). These aerosols were collected over a polluted portion of the North Atlantic Ocean, near the Azores. For more information about the image, please visit this page from the Scientific Visualization Studio at Goddard Space Flight Center. Credit: University of Arizona/Peter Buseck
--Adam Voiland, Goddard Space Flight Center