News In Brief

Arctic haze traced to Soviet industry

Arctic haze, a massive reddish cloud of pollution that hovers over the North Pole each winter from Alaska eastward to Norway, is primarily caused by industrial pollution from the Soviet Union, an eight-year study has concluded.

Kenneth Rahn, a research professor at the school of oceanography of the University of Rhode Island, said he was unable to pinpoint the exact source of the Soviet pollution because of Moscow's refusal to cooperate with the study. But he noted that the southern Ural Mountains were heavily industrialized and had some of the country's highest pollution levels.

The study, conducted with Glenn Shaw, an atmospheric physicist at the University of Alaska, was funded by the US Navy's Office of Naval Research.