High-resolution sulfate records from ice cores can be used to investigate to evaluate the impact sulfur emissions.  Concentrations of sulfate measured in the ice cores around the world showed increases since the mid-late 1800s as a result of the rise of coal combustion during the Industrial Revolution.   The recent decrease in sulfate concentrations at some ice core site since the early 1970s has been attributed to stricter air quality standards in Industrialized Nations such as the 1972 U.S. Clean Air Act .

Industrialized Countries

World