Thermal blanketing: a case for aerosol-induced climatic alteration

Long-term temperature records at Phoenix, Arizona, indicate the existence of a post-1946 warming trend that may be attributed to the buildup of pollution in the lower layers of the atmosphere. The causative mechanism appears to be an enhancement of the so-called "greenhouse effect," induced by the inter-action of aerosol with long-wavelength thermal radiation in the lower atmosphere.