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Randall Martin's team uses satellite observations of sunlight that has passed through the atmosphere to infer the abundance of trace gasses and particles. Knowing where pollutants are means that Dr. Martin and his team can determine their impact.

"If pollutants are close to earth's surface, they're of relevance to human health. Pollutants higher up in the atmosphere are still relevant for climate," he says. "Satellite remote sensing is like looking down on a murky bucket of water. You don't know where in the atmosphere the pollution is, so we use a model to calculate the vertical profile of pollutants in the atmosphere."

Read more about Dr. Martin's work on .