Chemical equator

The chemical equator term and concept was coined in 2008 when researchers from University of York discovered a distinct divide between the polluted air and haze over Indonesia from the largely uncontaminated atmosphere over Australia. This divide is distinguishable by a rapid increase in atmospheric levels of carbon monoxide and other pollutants from the Tropical Warm Pool region northward. The divide of the atmosphere of the northern hemisphere from the atmosphere of the southern hemisphere is different from that of the Intertropical Convergence Zone.