NASA Models the Complex Chemistry of Earth's Atmosphere

Air pollution can appear as a gray or orange haze enveloping a city. What the naked eye can’t see are the hundreds of chemical reactions taking place to produce that pollution. NASA science can reveal a more complete picture of atmospheric chemistry.

A NASA visualization shows 96 chemical species that help form one common air pollutant — surface ozone. While ozone in the stratosphere is critical to maintaining life on earth, surface ozone is a toxic gas to most plant and animal species. This visualization uses the GEOS Composition Forecasting (GEOS-CF) computer model, which incorporates 240 chemical species and how they interact with each other and the weather through over 700 chemical reactions. All of these chemical reactions directly or indirectly impact the formation of ozone.

Music credit: "Interconnecting Threads" by Axel Tenner [GEMA] and "Night Drift" by Andrew Michael Britton [PRS], David Stephen Goldsmith [PRS], from Universal Production Music

Video credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio
Lead Producer: Katie Jepson (USRA)
Lead Visualizer: Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC)
Writer: Jarrett Cohen (GST)
Writer: Esprit Smith (KBR)
Scientist: Lesley Ott (NASA/GSFC)
Scientist: Christoph A. Keller (USRA)
Scientist: K. Emma Knowland (USRA)
Videographer: Katie Jepson (USRA)
Audio Technician: Matthew R. Radcliff (USRA)
Technical Support: Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET)