Chile has some of the world's largest open pit copper mines. This mine, named Chuquicamata, is located near Antofagasta in northern Chile.
Click on image for full size
Image Courtesy of the Wikipedia Commons

Industry in the Southeast Pacific region

Does industry have something to do with all of the clouds that form over Southeast Pacific Ocean? While the connection might not be obvious to most of us, scientists in the VOCALS research project want to know more about the pollutants from industrial activity. The tiny particulates from pollution that are in the air are aerosols. Scientists know that aerosols can have an impact on how clouds are formed. And because studying the clouds in the Southeast Pacific region is a key focus of VOCALS, learning more about where the aerosols come from is an important part of this project.

Industry in western Chile and Peru is largely based on local mineral resources, agricultural raw materials, and forestry. Most of the industrial activity is found in the urban areas and port cities including Santiago, Valparai, Concepcion, Iquique, Antofagasta in Chile, and in Arequipa and Lima in Peru.

Some of the larger urban areas have many different industrial activities such as food processing and production, and manufacturing of textiles, clothing, leather goods, and furniture. Many of these activities put pollutants into the air but the largest source of aerosols comes from the mining industry.

Mining is the most important industry in this region. In northern Chile and Southern Peru, there are lots of mineral resources including copper, nitrates, iron, gold, and silver. Industrial activities based on mineral resources include copper refining, production of nitrate products, iron smelting and steel production, and oil refining. Of these, copper mining and production is the most important economic activity. This region is one of the world's largest copper-mining centers. In fact, the largest open-pit copper mine in the world is located in Chuquicamata in northern Chile, very close to the arid Atacama Desert.

Last modified September 19, 2008 by Sandra Henderson.

You might also be interested in:

Cool It! Game

Check out our online store - minerals, fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items!...more

Introduction to VOCALS Science

Scientists know that west coasts of Chile and Peru and the Southeastern Pacific Ocean are a very important part of the global climate system. However, they don't completely understand how the oceans, atmosphere,...more

Air Pollution

What do smog, acid rain, carbon monoxide, fossil fuel exhausts, and tropospheric ozone have in common? They are all examples of air pollution. Air pollution is not new. As far back as the 13 th century,...more

Air Pollution Sources

Air pollution comes from many different sources. Natural processes that affect air quality include volcanoes, which produce sulfur, chlorine, and ash particulates. Wildfires produce smoke and carbon monoxide....more

Aerosols: Tiny Particulates in the Air

When you look up at the sky, you are looking at more than just air. There are also billions of tiny bits of solid and liquid floating in the atmosphere. Those tiny floating particles are called aerosols...more

How Clouds Form

A cloud is composed of tiny water droplets or ice crystals that are suspended in the air. A series of processes have to happen in order for these water droplets or ice crystals to form into clouds in the...more

Clouds and Precipitation in the Southeast Pacific

The Southeast Pacific region contains the world's most extensive sheet of stratocumulus clouds. These clouds extend for almost 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) off the west coast of South America from central...more

Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert is one of the driest places on Earth. The Atacama is in the country of Chile in South America. In an average year, much of this desert gets less than 1 millimeter (0.04 inch) of rain!...more

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA