Atmosphere
Priority Issues:

• Air quality
• Greenhouse gas emissions

Air Quality is affected by:

• Locally high levels of woodsmoke during the winter months. The Tamar Valley is particularly affected due to the Tamar Region Airshed. A climatic feature of northern Tasmania is the potential for cold air (katabatic) drainage. This occurs under highly stable conditions when cold air sinks from higher elevations under its own weight, producing a light air stream moving along the valleys towards the sea. A temperature inversion is thus created, and air pollution that is entrained into katabatic flow will remain largely unmixed, thus causing high pollution concentrations in particular air bodies.
• Particulate emissions and smoke at the regional level. Particle and greenhouse gas emissions include particulates, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, methane, carbon dioxide, fluorine and odorous reduced sulphur compounds. Emissions can come from wood burning, motor vehicles, and industrial processes. Major sources of particulate emissions include domestic woodsmoke, bushfires, controlled burns, incinerators, and pollen.
• Atmospheric issues such as climate change and greenhouse effects come through the use of fossil fuels, industrial processes, and inefficient energy-use practices.