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Abstract
Several photographs are presented which illustrate the large scale dispersion of atmospheric pollutants. These photographs were taken by astronauts on various manned spacecraft flights. A spacecraft view of a forest fire in the Apalachicola National Forest revealed a rather large smoke plume. Geometrically scaled measurements indicated the plume was approximately 4 miles wide and about 65 miles long. Trapped under a frontal inversion located between 2500 and 3000 ft above ground level, this plume was being transported south-southwestward into the Gulf of Mexico by the local wind flow pattern. Several pictures containing examples of industrial smoke plumes in the vicinity of Houston, Tex., are discussed in relation to the local synoptic situation. A picture of industrial haze over Houston, Tex., is presented to illustrate an areal distribution of atmospheric pollutants covering an area of about 2600 square miles.