Science. 1987 Jan 23;235(4787):460-5. doi: 10.1126/science.235.4787.460.
Acid deposition and photochemical smog are urban air pollution problems, and they remain localized as long as the sulfur, nitrogen, and hydrocarbon pollutants are confined to the lower troposphere (below about 1-kilometer altitude) where they are short-lived. If, however, the contaminants are rapidly transported to the upper troposphere, then their atmospheric residence times grow and their range of influence expands dramatically. Although this vertical transport ameliorates some of the effects of acid rain by diluting atmospheric acids, it exacerbates global tropospheric ozone production by redistributing the necessary nitrogen catalysts. Results of recent computer simulations suggest that thunderstorms are one means of rapid vertical transport. To test this hypothesis, several research aircraft near a midwestern thunderstrom measured carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, ozone, and reactive nitrogen compounds. Their concentrations were much greater in the outflow region of the storm, up to 11 kilometers in altitude, than in surrounding air. Trace gas measurements can thus be used to track the motion of air in and around a cloud. Thunderstorms may transform local air pollution problems into regional or global atmospheric chemistry problems.
酸沉降和光化学烟雾是城市空气污染问题，只要硫、氮和碳氢化合物污染物局限在对流层下部（约 1 公里以下的高度），它们就是局部性的，因为在那里它们的寿命很短。然而，如果污染物被迅速输送到对流层上部，那么它们在大气中的停留时间就会延长，其影响范围也会急剧扩大。尽管这种垂直输送通过稀释大气中的酸来减轻酸雨的一些影响，但它通过重新分配必要的氮催化剂，加剧了全球对流层臭氧的产生。最近的计算机模拟结果表明，雷暴是一种快速垂直输送的手段。为了验证这一假设，在中西部雷暴附近的几架研究飞机测量了一氧化碳、碳氢化合物、臭氧和活性氮化合物。它们在风暴的流出区（高达 11 公里的高度）的浓度远远高于周围空气的浓度。因此，痕量气体测量可以用来追踪云和周围空气的运动。雷暴可能会将局部空气污染问题转化为区域或全球大气化学问题。
