Zeppelin NT in Climate Research (IMAGE) Forschungszentrum Juelich Caption Up to 1,000 meters above the ground: as part of the EU project PEGASOS, Jülich scientists and their colleagues spent five weeks recording data with the Zeppelin NT in the atmosphere over northern Italy. During their campaign, the researchers identified a previously unknown process that leads to the formation of the trace gas nitrous acid (HONO). Data analysis led to a surprising finding: in contrast to the prevailing assumption, HONO is not an additional source of hydroxyl radicals (OH radicals), which play an important role in the atmosphere's self-cleaning capacity. Credit Source: Forschungszentrum Jülich/ Florian Rubach Usage Restrictions Image may only be used with approprate credit in conjunction with media reports about Forschungszentrum Jülich. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.