Andreas Christen, a UBC geography professor, spoke to The Economist for an article about the concept of using a jet engine to help curb emissions.
A researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wants to use jet exhaust to disrupt the phenomenon called “inversion”, in which a layer of warm air settles over cooler air and traps it.
Christen said that the worst episodes of pollution happen when air is cold because the air contracts into a smaller volume at low temperatures, giving warm air above it room to expand downwards.
He also said that some farmers in rich countries use helicopters to disrupt inversion layers above their fields to protect their crops from frost.
