The cleanest air in the world is found in a specific spot in Antarctica

According to a new study, the cleanest air in the world is located in Antarcticain particular above the Southern Ocean. The air has been described by researchers as “truly pristine” and unaffected by pollution. Scientists have found that the air it was free from any particle produced by human activity or from powders from other continents.

By ship, the researchers traveled 40km from the edge of the Antarctic ice to conduct “bacterial profiling” from air filter samples. But the scientists found that the air was so clean that there was little DNA to analyze.

“We were able to use airborne bacteria over the Southern Ocean as a diagnostic tool to infer key properties of the lower atmosphere,” said study co-author. Thomas Hill. Apparently the particles discovered were linked to marine bacteria by sea spray, without contaminants from outside the region.

Antarctica is isolated from the pollution of other continents

The results go in contrast to other ocean studies in the Northern Hemisphere and the subtropics, which have found most of the microbes moving from the continents into the wind. “Antarctica appears to be isolated from southward dispersal of microorganisms and nutrient deposition from southern continents,” he said. Hill.

Overall, the study suggests that the Southern Ocean it is one of the very few places on Earth minimally influenced by anthropogenic activities. The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.